When the Sun Rises
by MajorMutation
Summary: Finally back in Hillwood to take care of her bed-ridden father, Helga is caught in a bank robbery. But then her world gets turned upside down when she is rescued by a certain hostage negotiator. AxH!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I came up with this story a while ago, and it has been eating away at me ever since. I really hope you like it! Read and REVIEW to let me know if you do!**

* * *

These_ slack-jaws need to hurry the hell up, _she thought as she tapped her foot against the tile of the bank. The line was obscenely long, and, as usual, she was stuck in the back.

It was something else being back in this town, especially for the reasons she was back. But, a month back, and two weeks working, she had yet to feel nostalgic. It was a Friday afternoon, and everyone and their mother were depositing their paychecks, herself included. And since it was Friday, Bob would scream down the stairs at her, and order her to make something. But, what was he going to do? After all, he has been bed-ridden for a good three months now.

Since her useless older sister fell for some upper class yuppie while she was taking care of Bob, and they eloped, it left Helga having to pack up, and fly back home after ten years.

She was half way through the line, which hadn't thinned out any since she got in it, and let out a long, frustrated sigh as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. _I don't know why I'm in such a hurry for, it's not like I'm looking forward to going back home. _

A loud crash behind her startled her, and everyone else in the bank, as a barrage of loud gunfire went off. Helga immediately crouched down and put her hands over her head protectively, as other people started to scream next to her. "Everybody down!" She heard a man yell. Looking over towards the door, she could see a pair of men in sky masks, one holding a small automatic pistol, the other shoving a shotgun into a man's face, as he shoved him towards the wall.

Helga's heart went into overdrive, as she followed the other people in the group and crawled her way over to the counter. She leaned back against wall of the counter and looked around. The man with the shotgun was shoving a crowbar through the steel handles of the doors, as the other went through the line of people along the wall, holding his gun in their faces. "Any of you decides to play hero, you're dead!" As he past her, she felt herself seize up in fear, not moving a muscle as he continued down the line and continued to yell at people.

As the man with the shotgun jumped over the counter, and started emptying the cash registers, Helga looked over and saw the woman next to her in tears, as well as hearing a few others sob. She didn't cry, didn't feel the need to. She simply felt the need to survive, and right now, in order to do that, she simply needed to stay still. She was scared, yes, but she wasn't going to cry.

As the robbers barked orders to each other, one of them yelling out times, and running towards the window, the other told him to shut up and continued to raid the registers. _Alright, they just grab the money, then get out, and I walk out of here without getting myself killed, so as long as…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the wailing of sirens. Helga felt a mixture of relief and dread fill her system. "It's the cops!" One of the yelled from the window.

"How the hell pressed the alarm!?" The one with the pistol yelled, coming up to where the bank employees were sitting.

"I didn't, no one did, I swear!" The bank manager told him profusely.

"Did you take out the bottom bills!?" He yelled over to the man still behind the registers. "God damnit! I told you to leave those! You screwed us!"

"No, we can still make it out of here!" He yelled back, coming around with a duffle bag. "We still have them." He pointed his shotgun towards the group of people sitting on the floor.

* * *

His car skidded to a stop, just outside the barricade, and he ran towards the communications van, flashing his badge at a uniform who tried to stop him. He didn't know much other than it was a ten thirty, and he was personally requested when they heard that it turned into a hostage standoff. He flung open the door to the van and started to ask for information. "What do we know?" He asked as he slipped on the headset that was being held up to him.

"Two men, Caucasian, mid to late twenties," The commanding officer read off.

"We have eyes?"

"Yeah, one has an Ozi, the other has a shotgun, alarm was triggered when they removed the bottom bills."

"So they aren't pros, that's for sure." He observed as he looked upon the small screen displaying the banks camera feed. From what he could see, there were about ten hostages being held at gun point while the other was pacing across the floor, randomly brandishing his gun at the hostages. "They're panicking, they're nervous. Get me a line in that bank," He shouted over to the other side of the van, "we need to calm these guys down."

* * *

Helga brought her knees up to her chest, as she carefully eyed the man pacing across the floor in front of her. She didn't know what was going to happen, and she couldn't help but have the thought of the look on Bob's face if she didn't come home to serve him that night. She mentally shook away the thought as it entered, she was _not _going to die here.

The robbers both jumped at the sound of a telephone ringing behind the counter. The man who seemed to be in charge quickly looked over to the other, and then made his way back behind the counter and answered the ringing phone. "What..." He said darkly.

* * *

"Hi, my name is Arnold Shortman. I wanted to talk to you." He said in a friendly voice.

"Well, you can forget it. Unless I walk out of here a free man, you can count on walking into a blood bath." The man threatened.

"Well, why don't we see if we can work something out? What's your name, buddy?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line as Arnold watched on the monitor, as the man looked over to his partner for a second, "Steven."

"Alright, Steven, what can I do for you to end all this without bloodshed?"

"A bus, pulled around the back. If it's not here in ten minutes, I kill a hostage, and I kill a hostage for every minute that passes after that." Arnold looked over at the commander, who shook his head sharply.

"I'm sorry, Steven, that's not enough time."

"You have ten minutes, clock's ticking!" The man shouted as he slammed the phone down.

"Get me a bus, and have is sent out to the back of the bank." The commander ordered.

"You're not giving him that bus, he wants to take the hostages with him." Arnold shot back as he pulled off his head set.

"You have a better idea, Shortman?" The commander spat, turning his head to shoot him a pointed look.

"What about the normal procedure, tear gas, snipers..."

"The bank is frosted glass, so we can't get a clear shot, and since there's two of them, tear gas would just get the hostages killed."

"And putting them on a bus won't?" Arnold shouted back.

"It's the only play we have right now. Hopefully, when he walks outside, our boys on the roof will take them out."

"Yeah, while the other kills as many of those innocent people as he can!"

"It's the only thing we can do right now!" The commander shouted.

* * *

Helga tried to take deep breaths to steady herself, to calm down. She has seen enough crime dramas to know how this usually ends up. And if her memory of Hillwood is correct, the nearest bus station is clear across town.

"This is getting out of hand..." The man with the shotgun said, as the other quickly went up to him and grabbed onto his shirt.

"You're not backing out of this! We've come too far!" He shouted in his face.

"They're gonna kill us, Steve!" Helga locked up as she saw the man step back and point his gun as the others chest, sending a hail of bullets into his heart. The loud popping of the shots reverberated through the bank, as people tried to scream over them. She hesitantly opened her eyes and saw the man standing over him with his gun still trained on him, as the other lay flat on the ground, his shotgun on the ground, its barrel pointed directly at Helga. She watched as the man walked over and picked up the shotgun and slung it over his shoulder.

He turned around and brazened his gun at the people next to her, yelling at them to shut up. Helga took a deep, shuttering breath, and felt herself start to hyperventilate, as her pulse slammed through her veins.

* * *

"Bus is en route sir," One guy said from across the van.

"Good, make sure the snipers are on position across the street, and..." The loud sound of rapid gun fire startled them, as Arnold quickly jumped over the monitor to see what had happened.

As he looked at the screen, he noticed one person in a black mask, lying on the ground, with another standing over him, a gun trained on his chest. "Get that line open, now!" He shouted as he put his headset back on.

The line rang a few times before it was being picked up. "You have my bus yet?!"

"It's on the way, Steven. But in the mean time, why don't you let me come in there." The commander shot him a confused, yet furious look, but he waved him off, "I'm a cop Steven. I'm worth a hell of a lot more than a couple of ordinary people. What do you say, man? You open the doors, I come in, unarmed, and we can talk, just you and me."

Arnold looked down at the screen, and saw him look over towards the front doors, and point his gun over to them. "If anyone but you comes through that door, I will kill the rest of them. You hear me?!"

"Like I said, Steven, I'm a man of my word. Just... stay calm, I'm coming in." Arnold pulled off his headset, and the commander was grabbing his shirt.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm going in there to talk him down." He shoved the commanders hand off him and grabbed a vest off the wall behind him, and pulled it over his head. "He's scared, even he doesn't think he can make it out of there alive. But if he thinks he's got nothing to lose, then he's going to start killing people." He strapped his vest on, and jumped out of the van.

He quickly jogged past the barricade, passing the swat team that had their rifle sites trained on the banks large glass doors. He slowed his pace once he was with in feet of the bank doors. He took one last deep breath, readying himself as he raised a hand and knocked on the glass.

* * *

Helga was lost in her thoughts that screamed inside her head, as she stared at the body that was lying in the pool of blood that was quickly enlarging around it. A sudden knock on the glass made her gasp, her mind recoiling to another gun shot. The lone robber made his way back around the counter and pulled the first person he saw up off the floor, a man in a business suit, looking about mid sixties. "Go open the door," the hostage, looking scared out of his mind slowly started to walk towards the door. "Now!" He shouted, sending the man into a much faster walk.

He pulled the crow bar out of the handles, and set it gently down on the floor, as he slowly pulled open the door.

Helga's vision tunneled at the man who walked through the doors. _It couldn't be..._

He stepped in, hands held up in surrender, a dark blue vest strapped to his chest. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt underneath, with a black tie, and black slacks, his blonde hair slicked back, with a soft smirk playing across his lips. "Hey there, Steven," his angelic voice pierced the air, and her heart. His deep emerald eyes remained glued on the gunman, who had his barrel pointed straight at his head. "You have me, why don't we let these people go."

"Not a chance! Close that door, now!" The gunman shouted at the older man standing next to the door, who quickly shut it, and put the crow bar back through the handles.

"Steven," He started taking a few slow steps toward the gunman, "a part of you has to know that there's only two ways out of here. And I don't want to see any more people die today, and that includes you, Steven. So, why don't you just... put the gun down, and let these people go. Then, you and me can walk out of here. Because if you do it without me, those men out there will not hesitate to put a bullet in you."

"Stop! Stop... stop talking!" The gunman shouted, his gun now shaking in his hand.

"Steven, if you shot me, I can guarantee you, that you won't be walking out of here with your life. Steven, there's been more than enough bloodshed here... let's end it."

The gunman's hand started shaking more, and Helga simply looked up at him, this golden god of a man, standing in the middle of a hostage stand off, talking down the man who just had a gun to her face, without so much as a bead of sweat. Her stare went over to the gunman when he let out a sob, and let his arm fall limply to his side.

Arnold quickly stepped up, and pulled the gun from his hand and set it on the ground, before turning the gunman around and pulling a pair of handcuffs out from behind his back, and putting them on the gunman's wrists. As the people on the floor with her were letting out loud sighs of relief, and thanking whatever god they believed in, Helga watched as Arnold walked the man in handcuffs over to the door.

He opened the door, and handed the man off to the swat team outside, and walked back over to the people still in the bank, most of them just starting to get off the floor. "Hey everybody, I'm Arnold Shortman, the hostage negotiator, is everyone alright?" He addressed the small crowd.

While most of the people were on there feet, she remained on the floor, her back to the counter, as she looked up at him in a mixture of shock, and awe. She was startled out of it by a hand being offered to her from her side. Helga looked up to the woman who had been sitting next to her through out the whole ordeal, and smiled as she took the hand offered to her, and got to her feet, however shaky her legs might be right now.

As people started to quickly make their way over to the door, Arnold was next to the door, ushering people out, most of them stopping to shake his hand and thank him for getting them out alive. Helga was probably more terrified now, than she was when there was a gun being waved in her face. She stood in the back of the line that was forming, and waited.

As the line quickly thinned out, the woman in front of her who had helped her up off the floor stopped and shook Arnold's hand. "Thank you so much, young man."

"I'm just going my job, ma'am, are you alright?" He asked sweetly.

"Oh, I'm fine, just a little shaken up, is all."

"Well, why don't you go get checked out by the paramedics, just to be safe." He ushered her out the door, as he turned to her.

Helga's system froze as he felt his soft gaze bore into her, as she averted her gaze, and started out the door, trying her best to hide the slight limp she was showing in her right side. As she past in front of him, he placed a gentle hand on her upper arm. "Are you alright, you seem to be limping."

Helga cleared her throat, and tried to hide her normal voice, by raising it an octave. "I'm fine, I'll just walk it off." She said quietly, not looking him in the eye. She took one more step, and hissed as she put her weight down on her right foot, having a sharp pain shoot up her entire leg.

"Whoa," He grabbed her arm to support her as she quickly took the weight off her injured ankle. "Come on, I'll help you to the paramedics, they'll take care of you." Helga didn't have time to protest, as he placed her arm over his shoulders, and placed his other hand around her back, his hand gently hugging her side, helping her walk.

As he slowly walked her out, and through the throngs of people, and over to an ambulance, her heart was doing flip flops inside her chest, as he pressed her into his side. As he helped her limp over to an ambulance, he turned them around and slowly helped her down. He stood back up and placed his hand back on her shoulder, but she still refused to meet his eyes. "I'll be back to check on you as soon as I can, okay?"

She nodded stiffly as she watched him jog off into the throngs of police and swat and into the large black van. As the paramedic spoke in her ear, she payed her no mind. Arnold Shortman was here, _here _of all places, a bank robbery! Not only that, he saved her, and everyone else in there. He stood there, with a gun being held to his face, not batting an eye lash, as he talked the gunman down and made him lay his gun down. She hadn't seen him in so long, and to suddenly appear here, it was so... surreal. But even more surreal, he didn't seem to recognize her.

Maybe if she played her cards right, he wouldn't and she could just drive back home, and pretend like this never happened. But... did she really want to? Sure, she left Hillwood and chose here mom's side after the divorce, but after she passed, she just decided to stay where she was. But now that she was back, could they really just... pick up where they left off, where ever the hell that was?

"Nothing more than a sprained ankle, miss. You probably didn't notice it because of all the adrenaline in your system. I'll put a brace on it, and as long as you stay off it for a while, and put some ice on it, you should be fine." The young EMT said next to her with a warm smile. Helga flashed a small smile back to her when she noticed that she was being talked to.

She was too distracted by the EMT pulling her shoe off, that she hadn't noticed that a certain hostage negotiator was making his way back over to the ambulance, his bullet proof vest now gone. "So, how are you feeling?" He asked as he came to a stop, and placed his hands on his hips.

Helga tried her hardest to speak, but her voice wouldn't go past her throat. "She's just got a sprained ankle, that's all." The EMT told him.

"You try to go to a bank and you end up getting a sprained ankle, what is the world coming to?" He asked in a light voice, trying to make her smile. The EMT was just finishing up wrapping her ankle in a brace, when she stood back up and went to the other side of the ambulance. Arnold sat down in the space next to her, and leaned forward on his elbows. "What's your name?"

Helga's eyes widened at the question. _Should I lie? I mean, he's a cop, and he could probably find out anyway, and besides, he's Arnold, could I really lie to him? But isn't that why I should lie to him? _She cleared her throat before finally finding her voice. "He-Helga,"

She heard Arnold chuckle beside her, "Really? I actually knew a Helga once." _She was so mean to me, I couldn't stand her, _she finished in her head.

"What ha-appened to her?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm not sure, actually. She just kind of... left when I was in high school." She saw him turn his head and look back at her, with a soft smirk. "It's funny, you actually kind of look like her." Helga's pulse started to race again, but she still refused to meet his eyes. And after she didn't throw out an off handed response, she could tell that he was starting to pick up on something. "Wait," he leaned back, and turned to face her. "Helga? Is that you?"

She slowly turned her head around to face him, and finally look him in the eye, forcing out a small, sheepish smile. "Oh my god, I can't believe it's really you!" He beamed, as he leaned over and hugged her, making her go rigid. He hugged her for a moment, before letting her go and leaning back, flashing her a bright smile, his emerald eyes shining back at her. "When did you get back in town?"

She cleared her throat once more before continuing. "About a month ago,"

"Shortman!" A voice boomed from across the street. Arnold shot a glance over to the van, and saw that he was being waved over. Arnold let out a sigh, and stood up.

"Hey, why don't I buy you some coffee so we can catch up?"

"Uh, sure." She struggled out, her mind was still going a mile a minute. Arnold quickly flashed her another smile, and ran off over to the van again.

She didn't know which one was more scary, being held at gun point, and watching a man being killed right in front of her, or staring at the angelic, and extremely handsome face of her object of affection that she thought she would never see again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Next chapter is up! Please let me know if you are enjoying reading this. It will decide how far I want to take this one. I do have some great ideas for this story. As for All in the Waiting, I have a bit of writers block with that, but once I get over it, I will update as soon as I can. In the mean time, I'll keep working on this! Please REVIEW to let me know what you think!**

* * *

"We have ID's on our robbers yet?" Arnold asked as he stepped back into the van.

"Yeah, guy in charge was Steven Mitchel, a rap sheet about as long as you can get, in and out of juvy since he was fourteen, a few B and E's, assault, grand theft..." The commander read off.

"So, it was only a matter of time before he stepped up his game. What about our accomplice?"

"Greg Harckum, according to his file, he was Mitchel's cell mate when he did a stint for armed robbery up in New York. Any idea why Mitchel decided to kill him?"

"Harckum probably wanted to give himself up, and Mitchel wouldn't let him. I could tell by his body language that robbing a bank was not his idea, he was scared and wanted out, but Mitchel didn't, so he shot him before he had a chance to. But we'll let the DA decide whether or not to add murder to the long list of charges he's facing."

"Alright, good job in there, Shortman. You heading back to the precinct?"

Arnold looked down at his watch, and started out of the van. "Paper work can wait till the morning, can't it? Something suddenly came up."

The commander waved him out and Arnold made his way back over to the ambulance in a brisk walk, where Helga was sitting. He was really happy to see her after all this time. People had left over the years, some close friends of his, others merely acquaintances, but Helga was always one of his biggest regrets. He never took the time to really get to know her. During middle school, they had gotten to the point of civility, then eventually to friendship, but she was always reserved, and he had never taken the time to tear down those walls. He always regretted that since she left.

As he came with in a few steps of the ambulance, she caught his eye, and he smiled brightly. The EMT had just handed her a few pills and a bottle of water, and she downed the pills with the water. "How's the ankle?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't tried to walk yet." She looked down at her injured ankle, and started to move it slowly in a circle. She shot him a glance and another sheepish smile before pushing herself up, keeping her weight on her left side, then gently putting her foot down on the ground, slowly putting more weight on it. He quickly stepped up, and placed a hand on her arm to help steady her, and she quickly grabbed onto his bicep when she limped forward.

"Think you can hop over to my car?" He asked.

Helga kept her gaze down on the ground, but her hand remained latched onto his bicep. "Uh..."

Helga tried to shake away her thoughts, she tried her hardest, but... she just couldn't seem to do it. As he placed his hand on her upper arm to help support her as she tested her ability to walk, she had latched onto his bicep out of instinct. But now, she didn't, for the life of her, want to let go. He was so much more muscular than the last time she had seen him. She was screaming at herself to let go of his very firm and very bulging bicep, but she just couldn't seem to do it. "Helga," She heard him say, and she snapped her head up to look into his soft gaze.

"What?" She asked with a very uplifting inflection.

"Do you think you can hop over to my car? There's a coffee shop not too far from here."

She shook her head, and quickly peeled her hand off of his arm. "Yeah, I think I can make it." She began to slowly hop her way over to where he was leading her. He stayed by her side, as she hopped over to the barricade, just as a CSU team was making their way past them and into the bank to process the scene. It wasn't too far, but for Helga and her sprained ankle, it might as well have been a forty mile hike.

But in time, she had made it to the passenger side of his dark blue crown vic. He opened the door for her, and helped her down into the passenger seat, quickly hopping over to the other side, and sliding in behind the wheel. He started the car, and backed up, slowly turning around and avoiding the coroner's van that had just pulled up, and drove off down the street. It wasn't until he stopped at the stop sign at the end of the street, that she had realized that she had left her car in front of the bank.

She looked over to tell him, but when she did, she just didn't have the heart to end this moment. He was just sitting there with his half lidded gaze and that soft, lop-sided smirk, his hair handsomely slicked back, with a pair of sideburns running just past his ears. She quickly averted her gaze, and looked back out the window, not wanting to get caught staring. After another minute, he was pulling his car into a spot outside of a small coffee shop, and hopping out of the car to help her out.

He opened the door, but stopped himself from helping her out right away, seeing if she wanted to try it herself. She swung her legs out, and grabbed onto the outside frame of the door, and hoisted herself up. She hopped over and closed the door, slowly following him inside the coffee shop. "Why don't you take a seat, and I'll go get us some coffee?" She returned his soft smile and hobbled over to the nearest pair of seats.

He returned a few minutes later, with two medium coffees, and had set one down in front of her. "I ordered it black, I hope that's okay. I didn't know what you took in it."

"Black is fine." She slowly lifted her cup to her lips and took a small sip. "You know, I uh... I never got a chance to thank you, for what you did back there."

Arnold let out a small chuckle, "I'm just doing my job, Helga."

"So... a hostage negotiator, huh?" She asked, finally looking up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, I've been doing it for a few years now."

"You were... pretty amazing in there." She complimented with a blush rising at being so forward.

Arnold smiled brightly in return, and leaned back casually in his chair. "I've been in much worse situations."

"I think I'll take your word for it." They both laughed at each took small sips of their coffee.

"So, you're back in Hillwood."

"Yeah, I needed to come back to take care of Bob after Olga ran off with some rich guy."

"You know, everybody was wondering where you went when you left."

"Oh yeah? I didn't think I'd be that missed."

"Give yourself a little more credit, Helga." He said lightly. "We've all grown up, you may not have been the friendliest person around, but you were still our friend. We missed you." He shrugged.

She eyed him with a slightly pointed look. "We?"

"Yeah, I know Phoebe was pretty down in the dumps when you left. Did you keep in touch with her?"

"I tried, through e-mails, phone calls, but after she got into that private high school up north, she was always too busy."

"You know, she's actually back in town. She's working on being a prosecuting attorney, I've actually worked with her on a couple things. I could give you her number, if you want. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you, again."

"I'd like that." She said with a warm smile. It was true that she would love to see her best friend again. Even when she had moved, she just didn't connect with anyone like she did with Phoebe. She had friends, but she just didn't have a Phoebe. Phoebe was one of a kind.

"So where'd you move to?"

"Portland."

"Really?" He asked, seeming very surprised. "Wow, why the sudden drastic change of scenery?"

"My parents got divorced." She paused as she looked up and saw him soft expression, silently asking her to continue. "They had been fighting so much, and one day, my mom just decided that she had enough. She packed a suitcase in the middle of the night and left. Bob got served with divorce papers two days later, and I packed up my stuff and went to find her. My mom said that she had some old friends in Oregon who would help us out. Once we got settled, she started going to AA meetings, and was able to get a job managing clothing store. But... two years ago, she was diagnosed with liver failure, apparently she had just been drinking for too long. So, she passed, and I just stayed were I was, until a doctor called me about a month ago. They said that Bob had suffered a major heart attack, and was bed-ridden. So I came back to take care of him."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom." He said genuinely. She had heard that enough times, and it always bugged her because they were just saying it because they felt they had to, but she could tell that he really meant it. "So, what are you doing now?"

"I managed to get a job at a department store in the mall. My mom hired me over the summers when I was living with her, so I have a bit of experience." She paused when she ran out of things to tell him about herself, and waited for him to ask another question, but as the long seconds passed, he never did. "So uh... other than talking down gunman, what have you been up to?"

He chuckled again and took another sip of his coffee. "Not much, really. After my divorce, I kind of buried myself in my job."

His light tone didn't sway her. Had he just told her that he had a divorce? Arnold, a divorce? What woman in their right mind would give him up? "You're divorced?" She tried to hide her utter astonishment, but it seemed that she didn't do it very well.

"It's a long story." He replied, not meeting her eye line.

"Well, it's not like we don't have time, unless you have somewhere to be?"

He met her eyes again and shook his head. "No, I'm free for the rest of the night." He looked down at his coffee cup and took a deep breath. "I met her when I was in college. We fell for each other pretty hard, and got married way too quick. It wasn't two months after we got married that we started arguing. And at first, I thought nothing of it, because I thought that that's just what married couples do, they argue. But then, pretty soon, arguing was all we did. She went to live with her brother for a while, to 'think things over'. I got served with the papers four days later."

"So, I take it it wasn't amicable." She said in a sorrowful tone.

"As amicable as any divorce can be." He said with a stiff shrug of his broad shoulders. "They made me see a therapist after a gave a guy a black eye in a sparing session. He helped me realize that I was in love with being in love, as cliche as that might sound."

"How long were you married?"

"Only a year and a half. We had only dated for a few months prior. We were both young, and stupid. But, that was about... four years ago. I've put it behind me since then."

"So, uh..." She hesitated before asking her next question, thinking it would come out wrong. "Any replacements?" She asked, immediately lifting her coffee cup to her lips.

She saw him smile above the lid of her coffee cup and shake his head. "No, like I said, I buried myself in my work. I just... never found the energy to start dating again." Helga suddenly felt the heavy thump in her chest subside, making it a little easier to breath. She didn't want to blame it on the fact that there was no one in pursuit of him, that she knew of, but it wasn't like _she _was really after him, was it? "What about you? Anyone special in your life?"

She smiled a somewhat pathetic smile and shook her head. "No one besides Jeffery."

"Jeffery? Who's that?" He asked with a raised eye brow.

Helga pursed her lips, "He's my cat, I got him when my mom died. Bob _hates _him." She said with a devilish smirk.

He laughed and picked up his cup again, letting a comfortable silence envelope them. Arnold looked down at his watch, and saw that they managed to kill an hour. "It's getting pretty late, are you needed anywhere?"

"Actually, I should probably get back home, Bob is probably already yelling down the stairs for me." She got to her feet, and picked up her coffee.

"You want me to drop you off?" He asked.

"Actually, my car is still back at the bank, and I don't exactly know if they'd let me by the barricade."

"Well, why don't I drive you back. Most of the team should be gone by now, so it should just be the clean up crew, but having a badge always helps." Arnold helped her hop back out to his car, and after a short drive, they were pulling up next to Helga's Ford Focus. Helga climbed out haphazardly, and hoped over to the driver side of the car, with Arnold coming to stand next to her, having just pulled two business cards out of his wallet. "So, this is Phoebe's card, I'm sure if you call her anytime tomorrow, she'll invite you to lunch or something, and this," he pulled out a pen and moved over and placed the card down on the hood of her car, and write down a number on the back of it, "is my card. My office number is on the front, and my cell number is on the back. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything, day or night."

She looked back up to him and smiled warmly, "Thank you, Arnold, and," she lifted her cup up to him briefly, "for the coffee."

"Anytime, Helga. Give me a call sometime, we can do it again."

She let her smile brighten as she shyly looked away. "I will." She turned around and opened the door to her car, digging her keys out of her pocket, and sliding in behind the wheel.

"I'll see you later, Helga." He said as he placed a hand on her door.

"See you later, Arnold." He closed her door, and she started her car, and started to pull out. He waved as she backed out, and she waved back, and drove off down the street, back home. She let a bright smile erupt onto her face, she knew she would have a hard time getting him out of her head this time. It was hard enough last time, but this time, he was so... different.

She parked her car, and slowly climbed out, and then hobbled up her front steps, unlocking her front door, and closing it behind her. "Hey, is that you Olga! Where the hell have you been?!" She heard her father shout from his room, immediately followed by a coughing fit.

She sighed heavily, "At the bank," she shouted, deciding to leave out the other minor details.

"Well, get me something to eat already! I'm starving!" Helga sighed, and went into the kitchen, grabbing a plastic container out of the refrigerator, and sticking it in the microwave. As the microwave buzzed in her ear, she pulled out the two business cards of her pocket, and locked at the top one. _He did say she would love to hear from me again, right? _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm really glad that you guys like this story. Please keep the reviews coming, and I will keep the updates coming.**

* * *

Helga lifted her eye lids open, awakening for the morning with the sound of heavy purring. She smiled and reached up to scratch her cat's head. Jeffery had gotten into the habit of sleeping on the extra space of her pillow when he was a kitten, snuggling himself up against her head. She played with his ears for a minute, then let her arm fall back down to the bed, as Jeffery got onto his feet, and arched his back to stretch for the morning. She smiled again when she felt him crawl off the pillow, walk across her shoulder, then sit on her chest, tilting his head down to lick her nose.

She giggled and started to sit up, while her cat jumped off of her and onto the floor beside her bed. She swung her legs out and reached for the ceiling, stretching her sleep strained muscles. She looked over to her nightstand, and saw that it was just after seven, and luckily, she was off today. After a trip to the bathroom, Helga made her way downstairs, and started the coffee pot.

Last night was actually the best night sleep she's had in a while, and she couldn't figure out why. She leaned against the counter, and looked down at the two business cards that lay there, facing up. She let out a sigh despite herself, and picked up the first card, and looked at the name of her best friend, letting a small smile form on her lips. Deciding that she would call her after a shower, and after she checked on Bob, she poured herself a cup of coffee, and a small bowl of cereal.

A half an hour later, fresh out of a shower, which lasted a little longer than usual, she changed into a pair of jeans and a light pink t-shirt. She walked down the hall to her father's bedroom door, and stepped in, finding him still asleep, his used dishes still sitting next to him as he snored. She let out another sigh, and picked up his dishes off the bed, and went back downstairs.

Ten minutes later, she stared at Phoebe's business card, her cell phone in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she started to dial, and put the phone to her ear. "Phoebe Heyerdahl." Her small, cheery voice greeted.

"Hey Pheebs,"

"Helga?!"

"One and only," She replied, spinning herself around and leaning against the counter.

"Oh my, Helga, it's so good to hear from you! I heard you were back in town."

Helga was a little taken aback by Phoebe's excitement, she must have really missed her. "You did?"

"Yes, Arnold called me last night and told me."

"He did?"

She heard Phoebe chuckle on the other end of the line. "Yes, he did. He said he ran into you at the bank."

Helga let out a deep breath. "Something like that, yeah."

"We must meet for lunch today, Helga. Are you free?"

"Yeah, I'm off today."

"Excellent, there's a small sandwich shop just down the street from where I work, say... eleven thirty?"

"I'll be there," She said happily.

"Great! I can't wait to see you Helga!"

"Me neither Phoebe," She replied warmly. After Phoebe had given Helga the name of the sandwich shop, and a rough idea of where it was, they said their farewells, and hung up.

Helga spent the morning in her room playing on her laptop, while Jeffery sat purring next to her leg. It was just passing eleven o'clock when she closed her laptop and went to go check on Bob before she left. She walked in and found him staring at the TV, a blank look on his face. "I'm meeting someone for lunch, you need anything before I leave?"

"I'm fine, just bring me back something, would ya?" He said indifferently.

"Sure," She muttered as she made her way downstairs. Her ankle was much better than yesterday, she could walk fully on it, but she was still showing a bit of a limp, and the pain was much duller than it was last night. She grabbed some pain pills on the way out the door, just before she pulled her hair back into a pony tail, with her bangs hanging down slightly in front of her eyes. She brushed them behind her ear, but they simply fell back forward.

Grabbing her keys, she made her way over to her car and started down the street. After a fifteen minute drive, she sat at a small table inside the sandwich shop they had agreed to meet at, with a glass of lemonade in front of her. She continued to tap her fingers against the table top, waiting for Phoebe to arrive.

After a five minute wait, she saw the door open out of the corner of her eye. She peered over, and was taken aback by the sight she saw. Phoebe, standing about a mere five foot two, wearing a grey pencil skirt, white blouse and grey blazer, her black hair falling loosely just above her shoulders, a pair of square, rimless glasses, and a small shoulder bag, she looked she just stepped out of the court room.

Helga smiled as Phoebe caught her eye, and stood up. Phoebe smiled brightly and held out her thin arms to her, wrapping them around her in a tight hug, which Helga returned. "It's so good to see you again, Helga!" Phoebe said, not willing to let her go just yet.

Helga laughed and squeezed her friend one last time, "It's good to see you too, Phoebe!"

Phoebe stepped back, showing Helga her face splitting smile. "You look great, Helga!" She stepped back and gave her a once over, and Helga gave her a shy smile in response.

"So do you, Pheebs! You look so... Law and Order-ish." Phoebe giggled and smoothed down her skirt. After they both went up to the counter to order, they sat back down at their table, and began to eat.

"So, what brings you back to town, Helga?"

"My dad. He suffered a major heart attack about a month and a half ago. Now the only thing he has strength enough to do is walk to the bathroom, which is a good thing because that is something I refuse to do."

Phoebe chuckle over her sandwich, "How's he doing?"

Helga shrugged in response, "As well as can be expected. He only yells at me if he's hungry, other than that, he leaves me alone."

"How are _you _doing?" She asked, her small voice quickly growing concerned.

"I'm alright, all things considered. Yesterdays little fiasco at the bank did leave me kind of drained though."

"What, meeting Arnold after ten years?" She asked, in a knowing tone.

"Well... not exactly." Helga responded nervously. "Did you see anything on the news about a... hostage stand off last night, by any chance?"

Phoebe's eyes widened more than Helga had ever seen before, as she leaned back and placed her hand over her agape mouth. "Oh my god, Helga, are you alright?" Phoebe asked, immediately reaching over and placing a hand on her forearm.

"I'm fine, Pheebs. It was just scary, that's all."

"When Arnold called me last night and told me that he saw you at the bank, he failed to mention why _he _was there in the first place." Phoebe said with a solemn shake of her head.

"I'll tell you, it was something else when he walked through that door." Helga said, leaning back in her chair.

"What happened?"

She let out a sharp sigh before continuing. "I went into the bank yesterday to deposit my paycheck, and since it was Friday, everybody in Hillwood was too. I was half way through the line when two guys crash through the doors, fire up at the ceiling, and start emptying the registers. The cops show up two minutes later, and it turns into a hostage stand off. So, I'm sitting there, and one of the tellers phone rings. One of the guys answers it and tells him that he wants a bus or he starts killing people. The next thing I'm aware of is the door opening, and he strolls in wearing a bullet proof vest." Helga paused as she let a small smile form on her lips. "I'll tell you, Phoebe, it was amazing watching him talk that guy down."

"Well, he is the best."

"He is? He told me he's only been a hostage negotiator for a few years."

"He has, but he is still the best hostage negotiator in the state. He once talked down a guy who was holding some people hostage in a convenient store with a bomb strapped to his chest."

"He never mentioned being the best in the state..." Helga said with a shake of her head.

"Well, Arnold's nothing if not modest, you should know that." There was a pause in the conversation, and Helga could tell that Phoebe was dieing to ask her something.

"It was a little weird when I heard about his divorce though." Helga said through pursed lips.

"I was wondering if he told you about that."

"I always thought if anyone could make a marriage last a life time, it would be him."

"Everyone told him that it was moving too fast, but he wouldn't listen. So, when they decided to get married, they hardly knew each other. He keeps saying that he's going to start dating again, but then there's another bank robbery, or someone walks into an office building with a rifle, or someone's about to jump to jump off a bridge. It would be rather depressing seeing him bury himself in his work if he wasn't doing what he is."

"He seemed pretty happy to me." She said with a shrug. After all, he was always in a chipper mode as far as Helga can remember.

"But what about you Helga. Any guys in you're life?"

"Besides my cat, Jeffery, no. I just moved back a month ago. And even before that, I never had much luck."

"Really?"

"Well... let's just say I have very _particulate _standards."

Phoebe looked up at her with a sly smile. "After all these years?"

"Believe me, I've tried to get past it. And yes, I've had the occasional boyfriend, but there was never any spark."

"Maybe you should... give him a call."

"Who, Arnold?" Phoebe simply shot her a look that said 'Duh!'. "Come on, Pheebs, you can't really think he _likes _me or anything."

Phoebe sighed, and pulled out her cell phone. "What I'm about to tell you stays between us, okay?" Helga nodded as Phoebe was playing with her smartphone. After a minute or two, she began. "This is Arnold's ex-wife. Do you notice anything?" She held up her phone, and a picture of a woman was being displayed, she had blonde hair flowing down past her shoulders, with blue eyes, and a toothy smile.

"No, what?" She said honestly, not knowing what her friend was getting at.

"Helga, she looks almost exactly like you. The only difference is you're prettier."

She scoffed in response. "Come on Pheebs, there are a lot of blonde haired, blue eyed girls out there, and just because he found one that bares a passing resemblance to me doesn't mean he has a shrine of me in his closet made out of my old chewing gum. It's just a coincidence."

Phoebe shrugged and shoved her phone back into her purse. "Maybe, and maybe I was grasping when I mentioned his ex wife. But, would you be happier of I was right or if I was wrong?" As much as Helga thought about it, she knew her answer was clear. She sighed and looked away. "Exactly, now, I would suggest that you call him, and arrange plans for a date. In the meantime, I have to get back to the office." Phoebe stood up, and Helga followed suit. "But really Helga, just call him, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You really want me to answer that?" Phoebe simply smirked and held out her arms for another hug.

"It was great seeing you again, Helga."

"You too, Phoebe." Helga stepped back and smiled warmly, as they made their way outside.

"Keep in touch, okay?"

"I will, Pheebs, don't worry."

"And _call him._"

Helga let out a small sigh, "I will."

Phoebe smiled in response and turned back down the street, while Helga turned to make her way back to her car.

Twenty minutes later, after bring her father her left overs, she was sitting on the couch in the living room, staring at the back of his card, where he had written his cell phone number down, in one hand, and her cell phone in the other. She took in a deep breath to prepare herself, but by the time it was let out, she still didn't have it in her to call him. What was it that was holding her back? He's single, she's single, so what's the problem?

She was brought out of her struggle by the feeling her Jeffery rubbing against her leg. She looked down, and he let out a small 'meow', and jumped up on the couch next to her, then climbed onto her lap. She sat back, and started scratching the cats head. "So what do you think, think I should call him?" She asked the cat.

"Meow,"

"Yeah... that's what I thought." She saw the cat move his head over to her hand that had her cell phone in it, and start to rub against it. "You think so?"

"Meow," The cat said, still rubbing against her hand.

Helga laughed, and pulled her cat over into her side, laying him against her leg, and picked up his card again and started to dial. It rang only once, "Shortman." His firm voice came across the line.

"Hey Arnold, it's Helga."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So, due to the fact that this story only has 3 chapters, and already has 22 reviews, along with 18 followers, I am posting the next chapter. Please let me know what you think by REVIEWING!**

* * *

"Hey Arnold, It's Helga." She greeted with a nervous twitch in her voice.

"Hey Helga, what's up?" He said happily, in his usual chipper tone. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.

"This uh... may sound a little weird, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining me for dinner some time." She felt her heart stop in anticipation of his answer, her breaths coming in short, sharp inhales that she prayed he couldn't hear over the phone.

"Like... a date?"

She paused as she fought off that tiny voice inside her head that screamed '_yes, yes, a thousand times, yes', _and instead, decided to play it a different way. "Don't flatter yourself, bucko. I just wanted to repay you for saving my life, that's all. And I could use the night out."

"I already told you, Helga, you don't owe me anything. I was just doing my job." There was a pause when she felt her heart start to break at what sounded like a rejection, but she stayed silent waiting for him to finish it off. "But, if I'm being totally honest, I could use the night out too. What did you have in mind?"

She simply sat there stunned. She hadn't thought that far ahead, she was so focused on getting him to say yes that she hadn't thought about what to do if he did. And now, she had to think of something quick, keeping in mind that she basically said that this wasn't a date. "Uh... how about Chez Paris, just for the sake of nostalgia?"

She heard him let out a dry chuckle before continuing, "Sounds good, I'm not free until Thursday though, I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, that's... that's just fine."

"Great, I'll see you Thursday then?"

"Yes, Thursday, you will see me."

"Great, I'll see you then, Helga."

"Yeah, see you then." She pressed the end call button on her phone and let her arm fall limply back down to the couch. She looked down at her purring cat that was sitting in her lap, looking up at her. "He said yes." She murmured to the cat, who meowed in response, "I actually have a date with Arnold Shortman."

The rest of her Saturday was spent in a daze, and after feeding Bob, she changed into her flannel pajama pants and a loose fitting t-shirt and pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and went back into her room, where she climbed underneath her comforter, and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't a couple minutes before Jeffery jumped up on the bed and laid himself down in his regular spot just above her head. She still couldn't fully wrap her head around it. In just one phone call, that didn't last more than a minute, she managed to land a date with Arnold Shortman, the one man she has tried her hardest to get out of her system, but failed.

She has had a few boyfriends, her longest relationship lasting just over a year and a half, but just as she told Phoebe, there was never any spark. None of them ever managed to take her breath away. She never felt what she felt for Arnold for anybody else. That desire just to be near them, that burst your heart gets when you see them walk into the room, or that electricity you feel just by catching a glimpse of their eyes when they meet yours, it was never there.

She simply decided that she was crazy, and decided to resign to her fate of living alone a while ago, simply settling for wanting something for the rest of her life, and never actually getting a chance to get it. But now, that chance was at her finger tips, it was with in reach this time. This could be her chance to convince herself, once and for all, that she didn't have to live alone, that there was actually someone out there she could feel some connection with, and would feel that connection with her too.

Maybe this was her chance to fall in love.

* * *

It was Monday afternoon in the JC Penny she worked at, sorting out clothes that had been returned. It wasn't until this morning that the reality that she still have four full days until her 'date' with Arnold hit her. Four full days to worry about it. Questions like what she would wear, what she would order, did he think of this as a date, what time would they meet, would he pick her up, all whirled in her head, and as for the time being, went unanswered.

"Helga," her manager called as she came up to her. Jane was a nice enough lady, one of the better bosses she's had. Since she was passed up for the manager position back in Portland when they decided to go with an outside hire, who was a spitting image of her father personality wise, she gained a new found respect for her mother's generally laid back attitude.

Helga looked up from her piles of clothes and raised a polite questioning brow. "I heard about what happened at the bank."

"Oh," Helga let out a feigned laugh, "it was nothing, really. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because if there's anything you need, just let me know, okay?"

"Actually," Helga stopped her as she was turning away, "I know I was scheduled to work on Thursday night, but I was wondering if I could have that night off. I uh... kind of have a date."

Her manager smirked and turned back around, "I'm sure Liz won't have a problem filling in for you. You go on your date and have fun."

"Thank you, Mrs. Anderson, I'll make up the hours."

"Don't worry about it, Helga, it's one night. Liz has been asking for overtime to pay for her wedding anyway." She said, waving a hand in the air as she walked out.

Helga smiled and checked the clock on the wall, which told her that she had about fifteen minutes let in her shift. She quickly finished the pile of clothes she was working on, clocked out, then started making her way towards the front entrance to the parking lot. Twenty minutes later, she was pulling up next to the curb of her home, and climbing out of the car.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside, "Hey, Olga, that you?!" Bob's hoarse voice bellowed.

Helga groaned as she pulled off her jacket, "Sorry to disappoint you, but it's the other one. You know, _Helga!" _

"Just get me something to eat, would ya? I'm starving."

"Yeah, yeah, for both our sakes, keep your shirt on!" She shouted back upstairs as she walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out one of the plastic boxes from the shelves and sticking it in the microwave. Two minutes later, she walked into her fathers bedroom where her balding father still sat in bed. "Here," She said indifferently as she handed him his food. "By the way, I have a date Thursday night, so I'll be out."

Her father began to laugh, the food in his mouth spurting out, as if she had just told him the funniest joke he had ever heard. "Yeah, right, who would ever ask _you _out?"

"It's none of your business, _Bob._ Don't act so surprised that there's actually someone out there that sees something a little bit more than a maid when they look at me." She would have let it go, and paid it no mind, but she was _not _about to let him crush her self-esteem.

Bob simply shoved more food into his mouth, grabbed the remote that sat next to him, and turned up the volume. She sighed despite herself, and walked out of the room, and downstairs, just as the house phone started to ring on the counter. She quickly jumped over to it before it could go to voice mail. "Hello?"

"Hello, Helga." A soft, very familiar sounding female voice said.

"Can I help you?"

"After all these years, you don't recognize me?" The woman asked, sounding slightly hurt that she wasn't recognized.

"Should I?"

"Helga, it's Dr. Bliss."

"Dr. Bliss! Oh my god, how are you?!" She had continued her sessions with Dr. Bliss all through middle school, and even kept in contact through e-mail when she had left, but hadn't heard from her in a solid three months. Dr. Bliss was still a very dear friend, and she really did cherish the relationship they had.

"I'm good, I just called to see if you would like to come into my office tomorrow afternoon."

"Uh, sure, I'd love to. I've got enough problems to last a lifetime."

Dr. Bliss chuckled lightly through the receiver, "Well, I'm sure you're doing just fine. I'll see you tomorrow, say about... 3:30 to 4?"

"I'll be there, doc."

* * *

"Hi, can I help you?" The receptionist politely asked.

"Yeah, I'm an old friend of Dr. Bliss', she should be expecting me."

"Oh, you must be Ms. Pataki. Yes, she is expecting you. Just have a seat and she'll be out in a minute. She's in a session right now."

Helga flashed her a friendly smile and sat down in one of the chairs in the lobby, and waited. After a couple minutes, the door opened and a kid was walking out, looking rather depressed. "And don't worry, Charlie, Mr. Simmons does not hate you."

Helga stood up as the boy passed her, then looked up to Dr. Bliss, who had the same warm smirk that she always wore, and opened her arms to her. "Hello, Helga."

She stepped into the older woman, and returned her hug, and it felt slightly mother-ish, but it was probably just her. "Hey Doc."

"Please, come in." Dr. Bliss let her follow her in, and she sat down in her regular chair, letting Helga take the couch. "So, how are you these days, Helga?"

"I'm alright, all things considered."

"I heard through the grapevine that one of my old patients had found herself involved in a hostage stand-off."

Helga laughed silently and shook her head. "Yeah, you heard right."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, really. It's just... everything else that happened."

"What would that be?" It was a different feeling when Dr. Bliss didn't have her clip board. It wasn't like she was studying her anymore.

She let out a long sigh, and leaned back further into couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table that was separating them. "Out of all the people I have met in my life, it had to be _him _that saved me. It just had to be _him!_"

"Who?"

"The hostage negotiator... it was _him." _

Dr. Bliss paused as she squinted her eyes over to her, in deep thought as she tried to think of what she meant. After a moment, her eyes widened a bit and she started to nod slowly. "Oooh, you mean... _him _him."

"Yes." Dr. Bliss started to giggle lightly, having to put her fingers over her lips to try and stifle it. "I'm sorry, Helga. It's just funny, that's all. I know how hard you tried to get over him, but then he just-" She started to laugh again, "just shows up and saves your life, out of nowhere."

"It's not funny." Helga muttered in a low tone.

"I'm sorry, Helga." Dr. Bliss said again, her laughter finally dying down. "So, how did you feel when you saw him again."

"I felt nine years old again, hiding behind a dumpster, and swooning over him. I felt like nothing had changed. All the things I had told myself went right out the window; that I didn't need him to define who I am, that I didn't need to love him to be who I am, that I was more than just a bully with a secret crush, it was all gone the minute he walked through those bank doors."

"Well, it's easy to keep your promises when you don't have temptation staring you down. Did you talk to him?"

"Well... you could say that." She paused for a minute, feeling Dr. Bliss' expectant eyes on her. "I tried to pretend it wasn't me. But he's trained to read body language, so I guess I couldn't hide for that long."

"What happened?"

"I guess that when the robbers came in and I hit the floor, I hit my ankle wrong and sprained it. I didn't notice it until it was all over and he was ushering everybody out the door, and as I passed him, he saw me limp, and hugged me into his side, and walked me over to an ambulance, then he sat down next to me, and he asked me for my name. I tried to lie, but I told him my real name anyway. Then he laughed and said that he knew someone named Helga once, I asked what happened to her, thinking he would say that he didn't miss me at all, that he hated me or something like that. But he just said he didn't know."

"You know, Helga, it seems to me that your still very infatuated with him."

"Doi!" Helga shot up from her seat and started to pace the floor in front of the couch. "Of course I'm 'infatuated' with him. I've loved the guy for as long as I can remember. And yes, I have _tried _to move on, I have _tried_ to date other guys, but there was never anything there. Every guy I ever dated was always just a boyfriend, I never felt in love with any of them. As hard as I tried not to, I would always end up comparing them to _him!_ And now I have a date with the guy, and I have no _clue _what to do with myself."

"Hold on, just for a second." Dr. Bliss put her hand out to try and halt the woman, "You what?"

"Him and I went for coffee after the stand-off, and we caught up with each other, and he gave me his card with his cell phone number written on the back, along with Phoebe's card."

"Phoebe, best friend all through school, if I'm correct?"

"Yeah, so I called her, and she basically told me to ask him out."

"And you just... went along with it?"

"She's a lawyer now, she made a convincing argument."

"And that was..."

"Call him or I'll kill you." Dr. Bliss pursed her lips but Helga shrugged, "I'm paraphrasing."

"So, I'm guessing you called him, and you asked him out?"

"Yes, and now I have a date with him on Thursday night at Chez Paris, and I have no idea what to do. The last time I went on a date was over two years ago, and even then I wasn't trying to impress anyone."

"But you _are _trying to impress Arnold."

"Of course I am, I do want him to like me, don't I?"

"Helga, you are a strong, confident, beautiful, very passionate young woman. If he doesn't fall all over himself for you, he doesn't deserve you." Dr. Bliss said sternly, standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder. "What I would prescribe to you is, on Thursday night, put on a dress, or maybe a skirt, do your hair, and let him know you're worth walking into a bank robbery for."

Helga laughed and nodded. "You're right, doc."

"Have I ever steered you wrong?"

They both laughed and Dr. Bliss showed her out of her office, telling her to keep in touch as she left. She was right, she may not be a super model, but she still had a decent body. Maybe putting on a skirt, maybe some heels wouldn't hurt.

* * *

It was Thursday night, and Helga was being very good at hiding the fact that she was a nervous wreck. She had just spent an hour in a hot shower, and another hour making sure her pony tail was done right, with her bangs hanging down just right, hiding her eyes just a bit. She decided to go with a red satin skirt, falling a little past the middle of her thighs, and a pair of red heeled sandals. Her nails were actually painted too, she hadn't painted her nails in years.

After making sure Jeffery had food and water, along with Bob passed out on his bed, she looked at the clock, and saw that it was just past eight o'clock. She smiled to herself as she took one last look in the mirror. She actually looked really good, her pink shirt a little tighter than usual, but as she pulled on a pink cardigan, it looked worth it.

Slowly making her way downstairs, her heart was still jumpy in her chest with anticipation. He had called her Tuesday night to confirm that they had a date, and said that he would gladly pick her up as close to eight thirty as he could, and it was now a quarter past. Her cell phone rang in her purse and she dug it out to answer it. She let out a shaky breath as she read the ID, which read 'Arnold'. She pressed accept and put it to her ear. "Hey, you on your way?" She asked, in a light tone.

"Hey, actually Helga, something came up at the last minute, and was called in." His voice rushed and a little loud, she could hear the siren in the background. "Something about a rifleman over in the next county holding a mother and daughter hostage in an office suite."

"So... you're cancelling?" She asked as she felt her heart start to crack.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry, Helga. I have to go." Her phone clicked in her ear as he hung up. She blinked and could feel a tear fall onto her cheek.

_How could I have been so stupid?!_ She asked herself, as she reached down and pulled her heels off of her feet. Of course he didn't want to go out with her, what was she thinking? She let out a shaky sigh and pulled off her other heel, letting it fall from her hand and onto the ground. She has had her share of bad dates, but never has she been stood up. How could she believe it would be _that _easy?

She fell upon the couch and tried to suppress her quaking and convulsing muscles, but after a minute of fruitlessly trying to stop, she balled up her fists against the cushion and let her angry tears fall.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: You didn't really expect me to make it that easy, did you? You really think I'd just have to go on this great, romantic date, then live happily ever after? Of course not! And I've always wanted to write a scene where Phoebe gets really pissed off and yells at somebody. So, I decided to do so. I hope you enjoy. Please REVIEW!**

* * *

_"You think I'm playing around?!" _

_"No, I know you're serious, but you have to calm do-" _

_"Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" _

_"Eric," Arnold said over the line, "Eric, talk to me!" _

_A hail of gunfire could be heard as his heart shut down. "Move, move, move!" The commander shouted. _

_With a few more gunshots, he fell to the floor on his knees. _

_"Shortman, Shortman, Arnold!" _

"Arnold! Open this door, Arnold!" An angry voice shouted from behind his apartment door followed by a loud banging. He dragged his eye lids open and looked over at his alarm clock, it was only eight o'clock, and he had just gotten to bed three hours ago. "Arnold, open the door!" The voice spat again, with a few more bangs against his door.

He threw the covers off of him and pushed himself up, and staggered over to the door, his eyes still struggling to acclimate to the bright light of the morning. "Alright, alright, calm down." He said in a groggy voice, still thick with sleep. He threw his hand on the knob and turned it.

The door slammed open, and he was awake.

"Arnold Shortman, I am going to _kill _you!"

"Now, Phoebe," He slowly backed away as she took a few threatening steps toward him, "Just, take it easy, and-"

"Don't you give me any of your conflict resolution _bullshit! _If you say you're going to have dinner with my best friend, then I expect you to _be there!_" She shoved her finger into his face, and he took a large step backwards to try and get away, but was stopped when he hit against the back of his couch.

"Phoebe, I wanted to make it, I really did, but I got a call, and-"

"_I DON'T CARE OF HITLER ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND WAS THREATENING TO INVADE EUROPE AGAIN!" _She screamed in his face with enough force to have him lean far back enough and fall over the back of his couch, roll over and land on his back on the floor. "You do _not _stand up my best friend, under any circumstances! Now, if it were up to me, I'd hang you out of your window by parts I'd care not to mention, but for some _ungodly reason, _she likes you. So, here's what you're going to do. Are you listening?"

"Now, Phoebe-"

"It's a yes or no question." She spat as she came around the couch and leaned over him.

"Y-yes." Phoebe was one of the few people that legitimately scared him to death when they were angry.

"You are going to get dressed, you are going to go down to the flower shop just down the street, you are going to buy Helga a bouquet of roses, you are then going to go down to JC Penny's and get on your _hands and knees _and present them to her, and beg her for forgiveness. She will shoot you down at first, but you will apologize again, and again, and _again. _You will then ask her to Chez Paris again, and offer to pick her up, offer to pay, and you _will _show up this time. Because if you don't _so help me..." _

Arnold raised his hands back up in surrender. "Okay, okay, I will."

"And if I find out that you didn't follow my instruction to the letter, I will come back here and make sure you get yourself into a situation you _can't talk your way out of, understand?!" _

"Y-yes..."

"Say it!"

"I understand." He said, raising his hands back up to her. She sneered down to him again and spun around, briskly marching out of his apartment, speaking harshly under her breath in Japanese. She slammed his door shut behind her and he laid his head back down against his floor, pressing his head down into the carpet. He did feel terrible about having to stand her up last night, he even asked if there was anyone else they could call. But, his reputation proceeded him. He got back to his feet and walked back into his bedroom, falling back into his bed.

After thirty minutes of trying, he couldn't get back to sleep. His guilt from the night before was keeping him awake. And he was sure that Phoebe would make good on her threats if he did not follow through with her orders. He threw himself back onto his feet and walked into his bathroom, turning on the water of the shower, and waiting.

An hour later, he was straightening his tie, grabbing his keys, and walking out the door. He stopped by the flower shop at the corner of his street, picked up a large, and expensive bouquet of roses, and set them down on the passenger seat of his car. Phoebe told him that she worked at the JC Penny's at the mall, which was across town.

By the time he pulled into an empty space of the parking lot outside the department store, it was a quarter to ten. He took a deep breath as he grabbed the roses and climbed out of his car. Making his way into the store, he was given a quizzical look by one of the employees, obviously wondering what he was doing here with a very large bouquet of roses. He pushed past his embarrassment and walked up with a smile. "Hi, I'm looking for someone."

"O-kay, who is that?"

"Helga Pataki, I was told she works here."

He saw the woman's eyes widen a bit before she looked off to her sides. "You sure you want to see her? She's a little... well..." The woman pursed her lips, trying to find the right words, without sounding insulting, and he could understand.

"Can you just point me in her direction?" He politely asked.

"Yeah, she's over there." The woman pointed to her right. "Word of advice: keep your head down."

He flashed her a feigned smile and walked off in the direction she had pointed him in. He continued down the path of the department store, looking down between the racks of clothing and mannequins. He stopped as he saw a tall blonde woman, wearing dark green polo shirt, tight blue jeans, her hair back in a low pony tail, an indifferent look on her face as she took clothes from one rack and placed them on the one in front of her.

He took a deep breath, and started towards her. "H-Helga?" He stuttered.

She snapped her head over to him, her eyes meeting his, then looking over to the roses he held in his hands, then back to him. "Bribery will not work on me, _football head._"

He couldn't help but smile at the sound of her calling him by his old nickname, but it fell when he met her eyes again. "I'm sorry... about last night. I asked them if there was anyone else they could send, but-"

"No, no I get it." Her tone was thick with sarcasm. "Why should I think that you could make time in your busy schedule for _me? _After all, we can't all expect the great Arnold Shortman to have time for everyone, being the superhero you are." She turned back to the clothing rack in front of her and slammed a few more hangers onto it.

"Helga, that's not true. I feel terrible about last night. Will you let me make it up to you?"

She looked over to him again with blank expression, then turned to face him fully. "No." She walked around him, but shoved into his shoulder anyway as she passed him. He quickly went after her, stepping in front of her. "Out of my way, football head!"

"That didn't work in elementary, Helga. What makes you think tha-" He was silenced by her hand shoving him aside forcefully. "Helga..." He called after her.

"I have to get back to work."

"Helga, just give me a chance."

"I _did, _and you stood me up!"

"It won't happen again, I promise."

"Damn straight it won't happen again. You had your chance and you blew it." She said as she spun back around and started back to the other side of the store. He groaned at her stubbornness and jogged to step in front of her again. "What did I just tell you?"

"What will it take?"

She let out a sigh through her nose, and crossed her arms. "You promise to show up this time?" She asked, raising a brow.

"You have my word."

"Yeah, news flash, that's not worth that much to me right now."

"I _promise." _

She paused for a minute, considering him before she let out another breath. "Tomorrow night, seven thirty sharp, dinner and a movie. _I _will pick both the movie, _and _the dinner, and you will pay for both, got it?"

"Got it." He assured her with a smirk.

"Good," She walked by his side again, yanking the bouquet of roses from his hand as she went. She sauntered away from him, and into the back of the store. He smiled to himself as he started out of the department store, noticing the odd look he was receiving from the woman in the front of the store. He gave her a small wave as he passed through the front doors.

* * *

"Phoebe Heyerdahl."

"Alright, Pheebs, what did you do?" Helga asked her, staring at the roses she had just yanked from Arnold's hand. She knew Phoebe had a hand in this. She had called her last night as a shoulder to cry on, but never expected her to take action.

"What do you mean, Helga?"

"Well, a guy just came into the store, holding the biggest bouquet of roses I have ever seen, and practically _begged _me to give him another chance after he stood me up last night. And this guy is about as oblivious as they come, so don't tell me you didn't have a hand in it." Helga was trying to be mad, but for some reason, she had a smile on her face.

"Let's just say we came to an arrangement that pleased all parties."

"Elaborate, woman!"

"Promise you won't get mad?"

"It's a little late for that."

"Well, when I was informed that my best friend was stood up by a man she has had a crush of her whole life, you didn't _really _expect me to just sit there and listen to you, and not do anything about it, did you?"

"Phoebe, I was just venting. I would have been perfectly fine with just moving on, and to be left alone to wallow in my own despair and pity."

"Helga, I've seen you 'just fine', it's rather depressing. I want to see you happy."

"While I appreciate you trying to help, I didn't want to get a date with him just because he was threatened."

"He _did _ask you out again though, didn't he?"

"Yes, after practically groveling. So tell me, what was this 'arrangement'? He buys me flowers, begs me for forgiveness, and asks me out again or you castrate him?"

"Basically, yes."

Helga scoffed and started to whine, "Phoebe!"

"You will thank me later, I promise."

"Maybe I should stand _him _up." Helga replied sarcastically.

"Ooo, that's a good idea, Helga!"

"I was kidding, Pheebs! You really think I'm going to pass up an opportunity to go see a movie and go out to dinner with _Arnold?" _

"Wow, so this is like an actual _date _then?"

"I... I guess."

"You do know what you have to do, don't you?"

"See the cheesiest, girlish movie playing, and pretend to bawl the entire time, then order the most expensive thing on the menu and barely touch it."

"And make sure to wear something a little skimpy too, but when he comes onto you, act like your not interested."

"You've done this before, haven't you?"

"That's what I did to Gerald."

"You haven't heard from that sleaze sack have you?"

"Of course not." Phoebe scoffed.

"Good, just let me know if you do, and I'll show him how _I _do things."

"I will, Helga. But let me know if you need any help tomorrow night."

"I will, Pheebs."

"I'm about to go into court, so I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay, Phoebe, see you later."

Helga hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She looked down at the flowers sitting on the bench in the aisle of the locker room, and let an evil smirk form on her lips. She picked up the bouquet and spun it around to look at it. She started out of the locker room to head back out to the floor, and threw the flowers into the trash can as she walked out.

"Hey Helga, who was that_ hot_ guy you were talking to?" One of her co-workers asked as she went back to what she was doing.

"Oh, him? No one... absolutely no one."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and since the last one was a bit short, this ones about twice as long, and if I do say so myself, it's pretty good! I LOVE the reviews that keep coming in! Keep it coming, guys! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Arnold walked through the bullpen and up to the door of his commander, knocking on the edge lightly, seeing he was on the phone. He waved him in and Arnold stepped in and stood behind the two chairs that sat in front of his desk. He hung up the phone and smiled. His boss really liked him, and it was about time to take advantage of that. "Good work last night, Shortman, as usual." He said with a smile.

"Thank you, sir. Listen, I need to take a personal day tomorrow."

His commanders brow shot up in surprise. In his four years of being on the squad, he has never asked for time off, so he would have been surprised if it didn't come as a shock. "Really? You haven't asked for a personal day in four years, is something wrong?"

He hated having to lie, especially to his boss, but he didn't want to tell the truth. "Well, it's... kind of..."

"...Personal?"

Arnold nodded sharply, "Yes, sir."

His commander reached over and pulled open one of his desk drawers and handed him a slip of paper, "Just fill this out and get it back to me before you leave for the day."

"I will, sir." Arnold smiled and went back to his desk, quickly filling out the form and leaned back in his chair, entwining his fingers behind his head, letting his eyes heavily drift shut. Phoebe's wake up call this morning had left him drained, and his three hours of sleep hadn't done him much good.

"Hey Shortman!" Someone called over to him on the other side of the bullpen. He sighed silently to himself and opened his eyes. "You seemed a little distracted last night, everything okay?" Dave said, coming to lean against his desk next to him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, not leaning forward, and fighting the urge to let his eyes drift shut again.

"Well, you're always so focused, but last night you seemed a little off. That isn't like you, so what's up?"

Arnold breathed out a breath through his nose and closed his eyes, not finding the energy to come up with a better excuse other than the truth. "I had a date planned for last night. I had to stand her up because we got called in."

"Ah!" Dave nodded and crossed his arms with a wide smirk. "So, you're _finally _getting back out into the dating scene!" His divorce was no secret around the bullpen, and his trepidation to put himself back out there wasn't either. His divorce was something he never talked about, he even got through his phyc evaluation by telling them what they wanted to hear, and not what he was actually feeling. "So, who was it that changed your mind?"

"She's an old friend from high school. She was at the bank job last week, she said that she was back in town. She invited me out for dinner to thank me for saving her life."

"And because we were called in, you had to cancel at the last minute."

"Please don't remind me, I feel guilty enough as it is. Then this morning, Phoebe comes banging on my door and yells at me."

"Phoebe? You mean that girl out of the DA's office?" Arnold nodded, still not opening his eyes. "Man, I heard she's a hell fire in court. But why did _she _yell at you?"

"Phoebe is this girl's best friend. They were like sisters from kindergarten to high school. She banged on my door and tore my head off for standing up her best friend, and _ordered _me to go and apologize and ask her out again."

"So, did you?"

"Of course I did. I spent a fortune on flowers and begged her to give me another chance. We're going out tomorrow night to dinner and a movie. I even asked for a personal day just to make sure I actually _make it _this time."

"Arnold Shortman taking a personal day? Wow, this girl must be something else if she's got a workaholic like you asking for a day off."

Arnold felt a smile curl at the corners of his mouth, as he laughed to himself. "You have no idea."

* * *

Helga was in the kitchen making Bob's meals for the next week, following his doctors dietary plan. She let her mind wander to her impending date with Arnold that Phoebe had forced him into. She had a game plan for the night, and if it all worked out, she would leave him for the night and he would be fawning all over her. She didn't feel bad about it in the slightest.

The simple fact that she had a date with Arnold was not over looked however, and she fought off the idea that he would actually be very charming, and that her plan would back fire on her. It was a very real possibility, and if he showed up at her door, looking any better than he usually did, it would be very hard to keep her plan in place, to _not _act interested, to _not _act like a bumbling idiot when he flashed her a sultry smirk.

It was the morning before her date, and she had ten hours to get herself ready. She still had to find something to wear, that was a little skimpier than what she went for last time. She knew she would end up scouring Olga's closet for something, since she left most of her clothes here when her sugar daddy started buying her things he wanted to see her in.

She put the last of Bob's food into one of the last plastic containers on the counter, and shoved it into the fridge. After spending the next half hour cleaning the kitchen, and taking care of a few other chores around the house, she spent the next several hours vegging, her mind playing out different scenarios, everything from them getting into a huge argument that left her storming out of the restaurant, to him completely sweeping her off her feet and into bed.

She laughed bitterly at the obscene idea of tonight ending in them between the sheets. _Right, like that will ever happen_.

After another hour of watching old Law and Order reruns on TV, it was now four o'clock and she decided to start getting ready. She started by walking into her sisters room, passing by all the pictures she had up on her wall of her and her parents, along with one of her smiling brightly, as her younger sister scowled off in another direction, her arms crossed indifferently. She walked into the walk-in closet and turned on the light.

It was still mostly full of her regular clothes, but there was bound to be something decent looking. She passed by her regular clothes and went into the back, where she saw a few things hanging up that were covered in a thin piece of clear plastic. She passed her sisters graduation gown, and her prom dress, then her eyes fell upon something shiny, and red. She pushed the hangers back to get a better look, and she smiled at what she saw.

"Arnold Shortman, eat your heart out." She muttered to herself as she grabbed the hanger and walked briskly out of her sisters room, and into hers, where she tossed what she had found over her chair, and out of the way of her cat, and cat hair covered bed.

An hour later, after showering, and finding the red heels she had worn before, she returned to the bathroom and changed into what she was sure to knock him dead, if not dead, then out cold. She reached behind her and awkwardly zipped it up, feeling the material hug against her. She smoothed it down and smiled to herself as she looked at her reflection in the full length mirror on the bathroom door. "Well, tonight is going to be fun."

* * *

Arnold could feel his pulse in his throat as his grip on his steering wheel tightened. He saw the light ahead of him change to yellow, as he floored the gas pedal, and sped through it. It was currently seven twenty five, and he was still more than a few blocks away from her house. After breaking a few more traffic laws, he screeched to a halt outside her door, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw his watch read seven twenty eight. When she said seven thirty _sharp, _she probably meant it.

He quickly got out of the car, grabbing the much smaller bouquet of flowers off the passenger seat as he got out. He took a deep cleansing breath as he jumped up her stoop, and rang the door bell. He pulled on the lapels of his jacket, and smoothed back his hair. He saw a blur of red move behind the textured glass of the front door, and his breath turned shaky. He saw the door start to open, and he opened his mouth to greet her, but as he caught sight of her, he lost the ability as his jaw went slack.

She was wearing a strapless, silk red dress, that hugged against her shapely hips, and revealed her long, toned legs. It was short, only coming to an end an inch or two above the middle of her thighs, which his eyes could not seem to get off. He finally broke his stare on her legs, and looked up to see her hair was let down, and fell loosely, and very sexily down her bare shoulders.

He met her eyes and saw that she had a blithe look on her face along with her hip cocked off to one side, with her hand placed on top of it, probably noticing that he was quite obviously gawking. But she was better at hiding the fact that she was too.

He was wearing a light grey dress shirt that had its top two buttons left open, revealing just a bit of his chest, a lot less than what she was showing, along with a smooth, black sports coat, with black slacks. His hair was gelled back, making him look very smooth. "Uh... um..." He began as his eyes racked over her again.

"You're late." She said bitterly.

He met her eyes again, and shook his head to break the hypnosis she had him in. "Actually, I pulled up at seven twenty eight."

"Yeah, well it's seven thirty one and we haven't left yet, so you're late. Those for me?" She asked, pointing down this his limp arm. He looked down at his hand, wondering what she was referring to until he saw the small bunch of flowers he was holding in his hand.

"Oh, yes, they are actually." He said with a smile as he handed the bouquet to her.

She took them and looked down at them, not even cracking a smile. "You know you gave me flowers yesterday, right?"

"Well, that was a part of my apology, this was just because I'm trying to be a gentleman."

"_Trying, _that's for damn sure." She haphazardly tossed the bouquet down on the table next to the door, and started around him after closing the door. She started down her stoop, and towards his car, leaving only his eyes to follow her. And at the sight of her back side, he had to suppress the groan he felt rising up. As he saw her approach his car, reaching her hand out to grab onto the handle, he quickly went into action.

He jumped down the stairs of his stoop, and lunged out to grab the car handle before she could, and opened the car door for her. She looked over to him with a deadpan expression, but he simply smirked and held the door open for her. She started to climb in, and he offered his hand to help her, and was surprised when she actually took it.

She got herself situated in the passenger seat, as he closed the door and went around the front to get in the other side. He climbed in and waited, looking over at her expectantly. After a minute of silence, she looked over at him, "Well? You said you were taking me out, so... take me out!"

"Helga, you said _you _were picking the restaurant, remember?"

"O-oh yeah, that's right. Take me to Chez Paris." She ordered as she looked out the window, and crossed her legs. As she did so, he sucked in a stuttering breath, noticing how utterly alluring they looked. It would be a miracle if they made it to Chez Paris in one piece. He shook his head a few times, started the car, and pulled away.

After a short drive, he pulled into a space just across the street from the restaurant, and climbed out, quickly jogging around the car to open her door, which she was obviously expecting him to do, since she simply stayed put in her seat, waiting for him. He opened her door, and offered his hand. She looked at the hand he had extended, and climbed out by herself. Once on her feet, she looked at him with an indifferent look, "I can get out of a car on my own, football head." She started toward the restaurant, leaving him to close the door and catch up.

He had intended to open the restaurant door for her, but by the time he caught up to her, she had already flung it open. He caught the door just before it closed on him, and stepped inside, and up to the host's podium. "Hi, table for two?"

"Right this way." The host said, grabbing two menus from the other side of the podium and walking over to a small table by a window. "Is this to your liking, sir?" The host asked as he motioned to the small, window-side table.

"Yes, it-"

"No, it's not, we're moving over here." Helga interrupted, pointed over to another small table against the far wall.

"Um," the host began, looking over at Helga, then over to the table she had already started toward, "Very well, madam." Arnold, feeling a little taken aback by his date, simply followed her over to the table she had pointed to. The host set the menus down in front of the two chairs as they sat down. "Can I start you off with an appetizer, or maybe a bottle of wine?"

"Do you drink, Helga?"

"Bring us the Dom Perignon."

"Excellent choice, madam." The host said with a slight bow just before he walked off.

He started looking over the gibberish on the menu, looking for words he recognized, until he found the word 'chicken', and a word that resembled 'parmesan'. _Worth a shot, _he thought to himself as he closed his menu, and looked up to see Helga still looking down at her menu with a blank, but content look on her face. He stopped for a minute, not to stare at her, but to _look _at her. She wasn't just sexy. Sure, she was a bombshell in that dress, but, as he looked into her eyes, that were still running across her menu, she looked beautiful.

He hadn't seen someone this beautiful since Rachel, and the divorce may have left him with a bitter attitude towards her, but as clearly as he can remember, she didn't compare to Helga. Helga was an entity all herself, she was something else entirely.

He saw her look up at him from above her menu, but he didn't react to it, still being caught up in his thoughts. "Despite what you might think, I'm not on the menu, football head."

He shook his head for what felt like the hundredth time that night, and quickly averted his eyes. "I'm sorry, I was just... lost in my mind."

"Yeah, well, take me out of your wet dream while you have time." She said with an eye roll while she continued to read her menu.

"No, Helga, I... you do look incredible, but I'm not that kind of guy. I'm actually a feminist."

Helga scoffed over her laughter, "Right..."

"I actually am a feminist, Helga."

"Yeah, says the guy who stands up a girl at the last minute."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm sorry?"

"Not enough..."

"Helga, I _tried _to get them to send someone else, but they said it had to be me."

"Okay, so what's stopping you from running off to save the world tonight then, huh?" She shot, as she let her menu fall down to the table.

"I took a personal day, so I'm off call tonight. Which should say to you how important this date was. I haven't asked for a day off in four years. My boss looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him."

"Wait, are you telling me that you haven't taken a day off in _four years?" _Helga asked, her eyes narrowed and mouth agape.

"Like I told you before, I threw myself into my work after my divorce, and never had a reason to take a day off... before now, that is." Arnold finished with a soft smile.

Helga, who had been doing very well in acting uninterested, had just been given a reason to feel slightly guilty for her attitude toward him thus far. He had taken his first day off in his career, for _her. _She paused, opening her mouth to reply, but she couldn't form words. This date was _real _to him. He honestly wanted to take her out tonight, to show her a good time, but she hadn't even really forgiven him yet. _I guess he _did _have a good excuse for missing our date the first time_, _and I did just order a sixty dollar bottle of wine. The least I could do is not be a total bitch to him. _"Your wine," The waiter said, showing her the bottle.

Helga snapped herself out of her guilt for a moment to look over the bottle, putting on a face like she actually knew what she was looking at. "Yeah, that's fine." The waiter nodded and poured them two glasses, then set the bottle down in the middle of the table.

"Have you had enough time to decide?"

Arnold looked over to Helga, who seemed to be deep in thought, "Helga?" She snapped her head up, "Are you ready?"

"Y-yeah," She lied. She had simply looked for the highest number in the prices, but now, she had to think quickly and order something that wouldn't cost him an arm and a leg. She quickly scanned the menu until she found something simple looking. "I'll just have spaghetti." She said, handing the waiter her menu and putting her hands back in her lap.

"And you, sir?"

"The chicken parmesan, please?"

"Very good, sir. I'll have that out to you as soon as possible." The waiter took his menu and walked off. Arnold looked over to Helga, who had her eyes locked down onto her lap. She was obviously upset about something, and if he was reading it right, she looked a little guilty.

"Is everything alright, Helga?" He asked in a soft, sincere voice.

She sighed after a moment, and sat up a bit. "About the other night..."

"No, Helga, you're right. It was wrong of me to cancel on you at the last minute. I felt bad about it the entire time I was on duty. I still feel bad about it. You're right to be angry with me."

"No, Arnold, it's okay." Her voice had softened considerably, as she gave him a small wave to dismiss him, but kept her eyes down on her lap, "You have an important job, and... that's a big part of your life. So... maybe I should consider getting past it."

"What exactly are you getting at, Helga?"

"Let's just forget it ever happened... deal?" She asked as she finally met his eyes.

He smirked at her softly, "Deal."

She smiled a bit, and he was caught a little off guard at how gorgeous she looked when she smiled. He cleared his throat, and reached for his wine glass, taking a small sip. He was never a fan of wine, but this was actually pretty good. She must know her wine.

"You uh... you really do look incredible tonight, Helga."

She picked up her wine glass and smiled a shy smile, "To be honest, I feel a little ridiculous."

"Are you crazy? I mean, you've been turning heads all night, in case you didn't notice. If _I'm _being honest, I feel a little jealous."

Helga let out a small chuckle over of wine glass as she took another small sip. "Why's that?"

"If I knew, I would tell you. I guess it's just when I see guys gawking at you, with their tongues hanging out, ogling you like you're a piece of meat, it gets to me. I mean, while you do look great, there's still _a lot _more to you than that."

Helga's plan was falling apart by the second. Not only that, her worst fear was coming true. It was back firing. He was really being sweet, he was really being kind, and she was falling for it, hook, line and sinker. But more to the point, he actually viewed her as a real person. She did notice all the sets of hungry eyes ogling her as she walked in, but all she wanted to do was punch them in the face. "You really are a feminist, aren't you?"

"I always got made fun of in high school for it, when I actually stood up for girls that the guys in the locker room were talking about like they were an object. There's just something about it that disgusts me."

She was fighting really hard not to swoon in that moment, but luckily, the waiter had just walked up with their orders. They ate in relative silence, and Helga carefully ate her spaghetti, being very careful not to get anything on her. Things between them now seemed very calm, and pleasant, like he was actually having a good time with her. And she thought that she was right, until the waiter came back to the table, and set the bill face down on the table.

Arnold picked it up and brought it down into his lap, and out of her sight, and looked at the bottom, feeling as if he had just been punched in the stomach. He hadn't spent seventy five dollars on a meal in his life. "Why don't we split it?"

He looked up in surprise, "Oh, no, it's alright. I'm not hard up for money or anything. I don't mind."

"Are you sure? I mean, we did order an expensive bottle of wine, which neither of us really got into."

_What do you mean 'we'? _He thought to himself as he looked over the bill again. He looked up to her to agree to split the check, but he just couldn't do it when he saw her soft smile, and almost apologetic eyes. "I'm sure." He reassured softly, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet, digging out his debit card and putting it and the check on the table.

_Okay, now I _really _feel bad, _she thought as the waiter came by and grabbed his card. Her plan to make him a bumbling idiot by the end of the night was now in shambles. All he had done was remind her _why _she fell for him in the first place. The waiter returned with his card, and handed it to him with the recite, and thanked him, wishing them both a good evening. He got to his feet, and she followed him, fruitlessly tugging at the hem of her dress as she stood up. He reached over and grabbed the mostly full bottle of wine off the table, and started out the door.

Once out on the sidewalk, they stopped for a minute to breath in the fresh air. "Did you want me to take you home or are you still up for a movie?"

_I probably shouldn't take up any more of his time. _"Actually, I better be getting back to Bob, make sure he's alright. Is that okay?" She looked over to him, bracing herself to see him dejected, but was surprised to see him wearing the same soft smirk and half lidded gaze he had been all night.

"That's perfectly fine, Helga." They started towards his car, and he went in front of her, and opened her door for her, and she slid in with a thankful smile. He got in on the other side, and set the bottle of wine that was in his hands on the floor of the back seat. He drove her back to her house in silence, and Helga was lost in thought about what to do next. She didn't notice they had arrived till he was pulling open her door.

She climbed out and another thankful smile and slowly made her way up her stoop, with him walking next to her. "Why don't we take a rain check on the movie?" She asked as she came to the last step.

"I'd like that." He replied, stepping up the last step, and stopping in front of her, just a couple feet away. "While we're on the subject, I had a really good time with you tonight, Helga." He paused when she looked up from the ground between them and up to his eyes. "Best time I've had in years, actually."

"Yeah... me too." She whispered as she averted her eyes again. The silence was no longer calming to her, it felt thick, it felt urgent, as if it was pushing her forward.

Arnold could feel his breath in his throat as she looked back up to him, feeling his heart skip a beat when their eyes met. He hadn't felt this pull in what felt like a lifetime, and he couldn't help but wonder if it one-sided, or if he was simply imagining the look in her eyes as the space between them lessened.

Helga couldn't feel herself breath as he started to lean forward, her eyes darting down to his lips. _This can't happen, this was not how it was suppose to go! _She couldn't stop herself. She let her eyes drift shut, feeling him lean further in, his warm breath fanning off of her.

A kiss had never felt this intense to him before, and he hadn't even really kissed her yet. He couldn't keep it this way for long, leaving only a fraction of an inch between their lips. Feeling no objection coming from her, he closed the distance and pressed his lips to her's lightly.

She sucked in a sharp breath in through her nose the instant his lips touched hers, feeling her muscles send a violent shiver through her entire body from the electricity coming off of his _too _soft lips. She raised her hands to place them on his chest, but he lifted his lips off of hers for a split second, and for that split second, she thought it was over, but was proven wrong when he deepened the kiss, pressing his lips to hers fully. She didn't know which part of her brain was actually functioning properly enough to tell her to return his kiss, but she was really grateful for it.

_It's not supposed to be this good, it's not suppose to be this amazing! This was not how this was suppose to work! _Her mind shouted as their lips worked together in another, deeper kiss, breaking lose a soft moan from the back of her throat. Screwing her eyes together, she shoved him off of her, and quickly flung open her front door and ran inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

He was still trying to wake himself up from the intensity of what he had just experienced. His mind finally caught up with him after a minute, finally coming to grips with what had just happened. He stared at her front door for a long moment, trying to decide what to do. He let out sharp breath, and turned around, making his way down her stoop, and falling into the driver seat of his car. _That was unbelievable. _


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: What does this chapter make it? Three chapters in one day? Wow, I'm on a roll! This one isn't as long in length, but it took me just as long as the last one, I wanted to make sure that Helga's reaction made sense, and that she was able to work through it in a believable fashion. But let me know what you think!**

* * *

Helga couldn't get her body to sit still. Her breath was coming in rapid spurts, her limbs jittery and shaky, her legs refusing to stay still for longer than a few seconds, and above all, her lips would not stop trembling. She had her shaky fingertips up to her ajar lips, rapidly tapping them against her still very alive lips. _It was not suppose to be this way! He was not suppose to actually like me. I wasn't suppose to fall for him again! _She couldn't shut herself up as she paced the kitchen floor, her feet now bare, and slapping loudly against the linoleum.

In an irrational panic, she quickly grabbed her cell phone off the counter and forced her fingers to calm down enough to where they slid across the screen easily enough to call Phoebe. Once the dial tone started, she placed it to her ear, and nervously ran her fingers behind her ear. "Phoebe Heyerdahl..." Her friends slightly groggy voice said through the phone.

"It back fired." She said in a rush.

"Helga?" She was obviously sleeping, but she needed to talk to someone _now. _

"It back fired, Phoebe!"

"Helga, slow down and tell me what's wrong." Phoebe's voice was now much clearer, and a lot more calming.

"He wasn't suppose to be so charming!"

"Who, Arnold?"

"No, the pope. Of course Arnold!"

"Helga... calm down, and... you know what, just stay put, and I'll be over in a few minutes, okay?"

"No, Phoebe, you-"

"Just wait there, and I'll be over. You are at home, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm home."

"Great, I'll be over as soon as I can, okay?"

"Yeah," Helga quickly replied and ended the call and set her phone haphazardly back down on the counter, and continued pacing the floor of the kitchen. _What happened, what have I done, what has _he _done? _Her mind was a jumbled mess of feelings, and that, she could handle, her mind was a jumbled mess most of the time anyway. The thing that was driving her insane was that she could still feel his sweet, soft, warm lips on hers.

She must have been lost in the wilderness of her mind longer than she thought, because she was startled out of her maze of a mind by a soft knock on her front door. She quickly sped walked over to the door, and looked through the glass to see who it was, still paranoid that he was still standing out there, just waiting for her to come back out. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, that did nothing for her nerves, and opened the door. "Helga, what's-" Phoebe stopped when Helga quickly turned away and briskly made her way back into the kitchen, leaving Phoebe to make her way inside and shut the door behind her.

Phoebe made her way into where Helga was still rapidly pacing across the floor, still clad in her skimpy red dress, which showed off a side that even Phoebe didn't know she had. "Helga, you look... sexy."

"You're not helping, Phoebe." She replied in a rushed tone.

"Helga," She urged, taking a step forward, and grabbing onto her friends wrists to halt her. Helga stopped, but her pupils were very dilated. Something obviously had Helga very worked up, and it obviously had something to do with the dress Helga was sporting. She pulled her friend over to one of the stools, and pushed her back until she was sitting down. "Tell me... what happened."

Helga let out a stuttering breath, and closed her eyes. "Okay... I just got back from my date with Arnold."

"So _that's _what this is all about. What did he do?"

"What _didn't _he do? He opened the car door for me, he told me how incredible I looked, he bought us an over-priced bottle of wine which I had ordered, he wouldn't let us split the check, he told me that he had the best time he had in years, he gave me the best kiss I've ever had, and then I slammed the door in his face." She rambled off.

"He kissed you?! I thought that you were going to act like you weren't interested, what happened?"

"I don't have any will power, that's what happened! I wore this stupid dress fully intending to tease him all night, but all it did was make me feel like a cheap prostitute. I fully intended to act just like I used to toward him, and I was doing a pretty good job of it until he goes and tells me that he took a day off for the first time in four years just for this date."

"He told you that?"

"Then he tells me that he never had a good enough reason to take a day off before I showed up. How was I suppose to act after that, and especially after I just made him buy me a sixty dollar bottle of wine?"

"How'd you end up ordering a sixty dollar bottle of wine?"

"I was still in the mind set of getting back at him for standing me up! Phoebe, he was just so sweet, he was so charming, he was so kind, he was so... so... so _Arnold!_ All this date managed to do is make me fall for him all over again."

"So... what about this kiss? How'd that happen?"

"As we were leaving the restaurant, he asked me if I still wanted to see a movie, or if I wanted to go home, and I told him that I needed to get back to Bob, and to take me home. And I only told him that because I didn't want to waste any more of his time with my crappy attitude. All that was suppose to happen was he was suppose to drop me off, I get out of the car and he drives off. He was not suppose to open my car door for me, tell me that even after I made him pay a fortune for a dinner that neither of us really ate, and made him sit through my bitchy attitude, that he had the best time he's had in years. He was suppose to just drive off, and never look back. But he just..." She trailed off and let her head fall, and Phoebe watched in anguish as she saw her lip start to tremble. She lifted her head and saw her eyes brimming with tears. "He just gives me the most breath taking, heart stopping kiss that I've ever felt."

"If it was so amazing, then why are you crying, Helga?"

She squeezed her eyes shut as a pair of tears fell, "Phoebe, look at me. I'm a bitchy twenty seven year college drop out, taking care of her bed-ridden blow hard of a father, whose been hopelessly in love with the same boy since preschool, and doesn't have the will power to get over him. If he had just driven off and we never spoke, then at least I could go on and think that we just weren't meant to be. Maybe I could actually move on. But now... if I give myself a chance with him, and we end up breaking each others hearts, I don't think I could move on from that."

"Helga, you don't give yourself enough credit. And loving the same person for as long as you have is _not _pathetic, all it means is that your heart knows what it wants. And the heart wants, what the heart wants, no matter what you try and tell it. Now, your brain may be telling you to think logically, and to rationalize the whole thing. But Helga, you should know better than anyone that love is _not _rational. Now, if you give yourself a chance to be with him, then yes, it could end badly, and yes, you could end up breaking each others hearts. But that only means that it wasn't meant to be. But, on the other hand, you could end up spending the rest of your lives together. You're the one who taught me how to be brave, Helga. Now it's my turn. Give him a chance, give yourself a chance, and just see what happens."

"But Phoebe, so many things could go wrong."

"But so much more could go right. Helga, you just told me that you just had the most breath taking, heart stopping, passionate kiss that you've ever had, and from what I can gather, you two didn't exactly have your tongues down each others throats, am I right?"

"No, it was... soft. It was sweet, it was... exactly the thing you'd expect from him."

"And what if you were never to see him again? You'd end up meeting another guy some time down the road, you'd end up kissing him, but it probably wouldn't compare. I told you, Helga. The heart wants what the heart wants. There are some people that are just _made _for each other."

"What, are you saying that I'm 'made' for Arnold?"

"Or maybe he's made for you? Helga, if anyone deserves to be happy, it's _you. _Don't throw away the present just because you fear the future."

Helga smiled sadly at her friends never ending wisdom, and slid off her stool and wrapped her arms around her. Phoebe lovingly returned her hug and wrapped her small arms around her best friend, and ran her hand comfortingly up and down her back. "You're the best, Pheebs."

Phoebe giggled and tightened her hug, "I know."

Helga laughed and stepped back, smiling warmly down at her. "So... what am I suppose to do now? I kind of... slammed the door in his face. He probably thinks I don't want to see him again."

"Well, the best course of action would probably be to call him tomorrow morning."

"Phoebe, I don't know if I can, so soon after..."

"It's not like I'm telling you to ask him to elope or anything, just call him and talk. Maybe mention that you _do _want to see him again."

"I guess you're right."

"And maybe... next time you two kiss, you could actually enjoy it."

They started walking toward her front door together, and Helga was in a much better mood than she was before. Her muscles much less jittery than they were before, her heart now clear enough to where it had the ability to take flight at the mention of kissing him again. "I swear, Phoebe, I can still feel him kissing me."

Phoebe barked in laughter as she came to a stop at the front door, "Wow, that must have really been one hell of a kiss."

"I'm sorry for waking you up like that, and making you come down here and listen to me whine."

"Hey, it's what best friends are for. You did do the same for me, remember?"

"Yes, I remember." Phoebe smiled brightly and held out her arms again, and Helga smiled back, stepping into her friends embrace.

"I'll call you tomorrow. We can go out for lunch again."

"I'd love to."

"And Helga," Phoebe called as she opened the door, "please don't make this your new look."

She laughed, "_Trust me_, I won't. I feel ridiculous in this damn thing."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Helga." Phoebe waved behind her as she descended the stairs of her stoop.

"See ya," Helga shut the door behind her and leaned against it, letting a smile play at the corners of her lips. She looked down at herself, and this tiny excuse for a dress, and wanted nothing more than to put on a pair of baggy, concealing pajamas, and try to go to bed. Maybe Jeffery's purring would help her sleep, as it usually did. She dragged herself upstairs, went into Bob's room and turned off his TV, then went into her room, pulled off the dress, and pulled on a baggy t-shirt, plaid flannel sweat pants, and put her hair back into a low pony tail.

She fell down on her bed and Jeffery jumped up into her lap shortly after, already very happy to see her again. "Well, at least you're happy to see me." Her cat meowed and began to rub against her, while she started to play with his ears, which always turned him into putty in her hands. She giggled as Jeffery's purring got louder the longer she scratched his ears, and climbed underneath her covers.

Jeffery got in his usual spot and nestled himself against her head, while she stared at the ceiling, replaying the last few heavenly seconds that she saw him. Phoebe had pointed out one thing; Helga was so wrapped up in her mind telling her that it wasn't suppose to happen, that she never got the chance to _enjoy _it. She didn't get the chance to actually kiss _him_, her lips just happened to react on their own. "Maybe next time, I could actually kiss him back, huh?" She asked her cat, knowing he wouldn't respond, but enjoying the fact that there was another pair of ears in the room.

"Maybe next time it will be different."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I love the reviews im getting for this story. Keep them coming guys!**

* * *

The bullpen was too quiet.

He came in to try and distract himself with work, but for once, the bullpen was silent, still. No one else was here, not even the captain had come in. There was one other person, sitting at his desk in the far corner, clicking away at his keyboard. Not an unusual day at the bullpen on a Sunday. Arnold was tilted back in his desk chair, one arm resting limply on the arm rest, the other up to his lips, being covered by his index finger, his thumb under his chin.

His breathing was deep and slow, much like his mind. He was conflicted, to say the least. He had spent the night out with Helga Pataki, and he actually had a great time. But it wasn't the date that had him searching for a distraction, it was the last moments of the date.

Her attitude had changed drastically in the middle of their date, and he managed to figure out why. The night started out rough, as Helga was being her old, bully-like self, and he figured out that she was still mad at him for standing her up, and he understood, and decided to not push the issue, and try and show her a good time. And as the night wore on, Helga had started to act very differently, she was kinder, gentler, she actually smiled.

None of this threw him as much as what had happened when he had dropped her off. She seemed like she wanted him to kiss her, all the signs were there. She didn't head into her house right away, she seemed a bit nervous, and didn't show any objection when he had started to lean in, in fact, she leaned in the rest of the way after he had stopped to correct himself.

His first kiss with Rachel, if he was being honest, was rather bland. It didn't leave him physically aching for more, as Helga's did. The sound of Rachel's moan didn't haunt him as Helga's did. Helga all in all, haunted him, period. She stayed with him, even after she had left the first time during high school. They were actually getting pretty close just before she left. He was actually working up the nerve to ask her out before the news of her parents bitter divorce started around the school.

By the time it reached him, however, she had already moved. He wanted to call her and talk to her, send her e-mails or letters, keep in contact. But he never did find out how, and Phoebe was always reluctant to give him a way. The only thing he had to remember her by was her yearbook picture, which she never smiled in. He had looked for her on the social network sites, but he never could find her.

And pretty soon, he gave up trying, and went off to college, where he met Rachel, who was everything Helga wasn't. Rachel always had a smile on her face, she was always very sweet, almost sickeningly sweet. Looking back on it, it was exactly like when he had dated Lila in middle school; bland, no substance, no depth, no passion, just companionship.

But, there was always an underlying factor that Rachel possessed that he never could pinpoint, some 'x' factor that drew him toward her. Maybe it was just the fact that they had fun together. But that's all they had was fun. Arnold conceded a long time ago that they had never really 'dated', they had just played around, and he decided to try and spend the rest of his life with her... having fun. But he quickly learned that marriage was a serious commitment not to be made with the soul purpose of having fun.

He loved Rachel, but after a few drinks with Gerald one night, Gerald and convinced him that there was a big difference between loving, and being _in _love. _"You can love a sandwich, or a song, or a painting, but you can only_ _fall in love with another person." _

It was that night that Arnold came to the conclusion that he was never in love with his ex-wife. Which to him, didn't make sense. They should have been a perfect fit for each other. They liked the same music, they shared the same interests, they had similar personalities, so to him, they should have lived happily ever after. But in a few short months of being married, he found out that they didn't match up at all.

Their fights were always very bitter. Often times, it was over the littlest things, that always got blown way out of proportion by both him and her. He couldn't get her to understand how much his job meant to him. He had come home late one night, knowing they would get into another argument because of it, only to find a note on his refrigerator saying that she had gone to stay with her brother to get some space, and to think things over.

The last time he'd seen her was at the divorce hearing, and she never even made eye contact with him. She had brought her brother, who was a small time public defender, and he had brought Phoebe, who had just gotten an internship with the DA's office. He managed to keep the apartment they had leased together thanks to her.

Ever since then, his work was his life. He would come in every morning, knowing he wouldn't be getting paid for his over time since his pay was a salary, but he didn't care. With his full attention on his work, he quickly rose up the standings and soon was made the number one at the squad that served the greater part of the tri-county area. But his popularity and legacy never got to his head.

Once things with his divorce were put behind him, the other guys on the squad had tried to talk him into going out to a club with them, but he declined. Some of them were even as blatant as to try and set him up with someone, but he always declined their offers, always having an excuse, whether it be a believable one or not. He didn't know why he was so reluctant to get back out there and try and meet someone, and to be honest, some of the women they had tried to set him up with were very attractive, but all he saw whenever he looked at them was Rachel, and how she had left him.

But now, there was Helga. And just like Rachel was everything Helga was not, Helga is everything Rachel was not. It was a challenge to get her to smile, it took him wits to get her to laugh with him, it took him mental stamina to keep up with her, and in that moment, he realized why he was always so reluctant.

He knew that none of them would make him be his best more than Helga, none of them would challenge him more than her. She was always a mystery to him, always surprising him. And last night was no exception. It wouldn't have been a normal date if he had simply kissed her and they parted ways, and Helga was always far from normal, she never was ordinary, she was extraordinary. So, thinking back on it, her moaning deeply into his mouth as she deepened their kiss, only to shove him away from her a second later should have been expected from her, because it was _unexpected. _

Helga wasn't predictable.

He had predicted that she would wear something simple to their date, like a knee length skirt and a blouse, or even a simple pink sun dress, but not _that. _While he was fighting to keep his mind in check, he was also struggling to not pull his coat off and wrap it around her. Because he _is _a feminist, and whenever he would catch sight of someone ogling her from across the restaurant, when they were clearly with someone else riled him up. Yes, he admitted to himself that he had a hard time not staring at her more alluring parts, and he did feel really guilty about it, and a little dirty.

But whenever he tried to defend his beliefs in the locker room whenever the boys would brag about their latest accomplishments, he almost got into a fist fight, which Gerald pulled him out of. That afternoon, he shared another piece of wisdom with him. _"A vegetarian may not eat meat, but they can't deny how good a steak taste. A person who doesn't believe in wearing fur may not believe in wearing rabbit fur, but they still can't deny how soft rabbit fur is." _

So yes, Helga did look _very _attractive and very alluring to him last night, but he would have been attracted to her if she had worn baggy jeans and a sweatshirt. And yes, he did have a very difficult time keeping his sexual desires in check, but since he is a feminist, he told himself that she can wear whatever she wants, whether it turns him on or not.

But, despite having his beliefs put to the test last night, he still felt bad about insinuating that she could only look beautiful if she wore something as revealing as that dress, which couldn't be further from the truth. In all honesty, he thought she looked beautiful the day after he missed their first date, when she was scowling at him and practically spitting in his face, which at the time, only made him feel worse. _How I could give up spending a relaxing evening with a woman that beautiful because of my job is beyond me. _

And while he still deeply regretted having to stand her up, and while he did feel a little disappointed when she asked him to take her home instead of going to a movie, the night did turn out better than he expected. He never expected going out on a date with Helga to be anything normal, in the course of events they've been through together, normalcy never played a huge part. So, her wearing a skimpy red dress, obviously done only to tease him, and her ordering a sixty dollar bottle of wine, and only taking a few sips, and her kissing him enough to where she actually moaned only to shove him away and slam the door in his face was, in a way, normal... normal for Helga, who wasn't normal.

That's what he liked most about her... she wasn't '_normal_'.

At this point, having his thoughts organized enough to where they didn't seem so overwhelming, he let a smirk curl onto the corner of his mouth. He was just about to grab his coat and head home, when the phone on his desk began to ring. _Typical that I get a call when I'm about to head home. _He sighed and leaned forward, and answered. "Shortman."

"Help, help! I'm being held hostage by a gang of rabies infested pirates! Help me!" A falsetto voice came over the line, obviously joking.

"Hey Gerald..." He deadpanned.

Gerald chuckled in his normal voice, "Hey man, what's up?"

"I don't know, you called me."

"I'm just wondering how my boy's doing."

"I'm fine, why?"

"Well, I got a call about an hour ago from someone who said that they saw _you _out on a date with a smokin' hot blondie last night at Chez Paris. Now I thought that was ridiculous. I mean, if my best friend had gone out on a date after four years of my trying, then I would be the first to hear about it. So tell me this is just a rumor."

"Yes, I went out on a date last night, is that so hard to believe?"

"Do I really need to answer that question? So who was she?"

"I don't need to tell you everything, Gerald."

"Yes, you do! This guy told me that you walked out with a blondie who had on a tight, strapless red silk dress with a bottle of wine, last night. So you owe me an explanation as to why I've been trying to get you to get back out there for years now, and you go out and find this girl out of nowhere. So I'll ask again, who is she?"

"You're not going to like my answer, Gerald."

"I don't care, it can't be _that _bad. I mean it's not like you went out with Helga Pataki last night or anything." After Arnold paused to wrangle in his temper, Gerald continued, "Right?" Arnold stayed silent. "Arnold, did you go out on a date with _Helga G. Pataki?!" _

"Don't criticize her, Gerald." Arnold warned in a low tone, through clenched teeth.

"You finally go out on a date, only to go out with Helga?! Man, what are you thinking?"

"Gerald, you're one more stuck up comment away from being hung up on." He knew exactly why Gerald was upset about him going out on a date with Helga, and it was the one thing that Arnold could never find the guts to call him out on.

"Arnold, I'm warning you, you don't know what she's like."

"And you do?" He challenged.

"I'm not saying-"

"I'm not going to listen to you put her down like this, Gerald. Call me back when you get a sense of decency." He slammed his phone back down, his anger getting the best of him. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He and Gerald had drifted apart from one another over the years, and he only felt bad about it until Gerald decided to call him, reminding him how much Gerald had changed. How Gerald was able to consider him his best friend still was a bit hard for him to grasp, but after this last phone call, he almost wanted to cut all ties.

He was in a much better mood right before he had called him. Now he was just pissed off. He stood up and grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it over his shoulders. He grabbed his cell phone off his desk and made his way out of the bullpen, and out onto the street toward his car.

Just about to open his car door to climb in, he felt his phone vibrate once in his pocket. He dug it out, and he had received a text message, and as he looked at the sender, his heart skipped a beat.

He quickly opened the message read it. '_Hey, would you indulge me by buying me a coffee? I'd kind of like to talk." _

He couldn't help the smile that broke out onto his face as he stared down at the screen. He fell down onto the driver seat and closed the door, then began to type out a reply. '_I'd love to, Helga.' _


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N I told myself that I would get into what happened between Phoebe and Gerald in this chapter, along with why Gerald doesn't like Helga, and especially what got Phoebe to finally stand up for herself, but as I kept writing, it ended up being a lot longer than I had originally planned. So I will get into that in the next chapter, I promise! In the mean time, here's the next chapter! Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Helga had woken up a lot more hopeful than when she went to bed. She rolled over after opening her eyes to her cat sitting on her chest, purring loudly, looking down at her with his wide eyes, and saw that it was just past eight in the morning. She tossed the covers off and reached for the ceiling to stretch for the morning, letting her muscles go limp afterwards. She pushed herself off her bed and padded her way into the bathroom, and as she padded back out to check on Bob for the morning, a thought occurred to her. She couldn't feel his lips on hers anymore. The tingling that her lips harbors last night had dissipated, and the only thing that was left was the uncontrollable yearn to kiss him again to get that feeling back.

After finding her father still snoring loudly, she jumped downstairs to start the coffee pot, and try and find something to get rid of the taste of sleep. As she waited for the coffee to percolate, she looked down at her cell phone that was still sitting on the counter. She had promised Phoebe that she would call him, and she wanted nothing more than to find him, pull him into her, and feel the electricity of his lips again.

But, as she picked her phone up off the counter, her underlying fear surfaced. She had slammed the door in his face, he probably thought that he had crossed some boundary, when in reality his kiss was more than welcomed. While she may have told herself that it wasn't suppose to happen, that doesn't mean that she didn't _want _it to happen. She had pushed him away out of fear, not out of anger, and it wasn't exactly fear, it was more of denial that it could actually happen like that.

Either way, she had still shoved him and ran into her house, slamming the door shut behind her without another word. But he's Arnold, he wouldn't hold something like that against her, would he? He was understanding, so naturally, he would be willing to hear her out as she lamely tried to justify her insane actions, right?

The coffee pot beeped behind her, and she grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured herself a cup, leaving it black. She took a sip of the bitter, yet smooth liquid and kept staring at her phone with a thoughtful scowl. She could call him, but she didn't trust her voice enough to make herself sound mentally stable. But luckily, thanks to the advancement of technology, a text message would suffice enough to the point where she could still talk to him, and carefully plan out her words without sounding like she was doing so.

She slid her finger across the screen to send him a message, but was interrupted by the sound of her father's voice, bellowing through the house. "Olga! Olga! Crimeny, get up here!"

Helga sighed to herself, set her phone back down on the counter, took one more sip of her coffee, and slowly made her way back up the stairs. She walked into his bedroom, but didn't find him in bed. She took a step inside, and saw the bathroom door open, _Oh god, no. _

"_Olga!" _He shouted another time, his voice coming from around the corner of the bathroom.

She braced herself for whatever images she was about to get hit with, and started for the bathroom. "Name starts with an 'H', Bob." She quipped as she stopped outside the bathroom door, and leaned against the wall next to it. "What is it, Bob?"

"Get in here and help me up, would ya?"

"Do you have pants on?"

"Damn it, girl, just get in here!" Helga let out another breath and braced herself again, taking a step around the corner and into the bathroom. She looked down to the floor and saw Bob sprawled out on his back, his pants around his ankles, with his boxers on fully.

"What the hell happened?" She asked as she took a step further inside, and squatting down next to him.

"The damn floor was slippery and I fell. Just help me up already." Bob held out his hand, and Helga took it, using every once of strength she had to pull him up off the floor, onto his feet, until he was leaning forward, one arm braced against the sink, the other around Helga's shoulders for further support. She slowly helped him back to his bed, which took longer than usual, since he was complaining about his back the entire way.

She carefully set him back down on the bed, and hoisted his feet back up until he was lying in his usual position. "You alright, or do I need to give the doctor a call?"

"I don't need that damn doctor over here poking and prodding me again, I'll be fine. Just... get me some coffee, would ya?"

"Sure, I'll be right back." Helga turned and started to drag her feet out of his bedroom.

"Yeah, thanks Helga." Her mind went blank at what she had just heard. She turned around with wide eyes and looked at her father, who was repositioning himself on his bed, and reaching over to grab the TV remote. Once the TV turned on, she knew that she wouldn't get any further.

Deciding not to tempt fate, she simply kept the shock of having him thank her, _and _call her by the right name in one sentence to herself. She poured him a cup of black coffee, and grabbed one of the containers labeled 'breakfast' from the fridge and went back upstairs. She handed him his food and coffee, not getting another response, and made her way back downstairs.

Maybe she was just imagining it, maybe he hit his head, either way, she couldn't help but feel a sort of love for her father in that moment when he thanked her.

Padding her way back to the counter, and stopping in front of her own cup of coffee and cell phone, she took another sip, and reopened her phone. The hour was just turning to nine as she brought up his name in her contacts. She pressed the 'send message' icon, and the screen turned blank with a keyboard appearing on the lower half.

She stopped and thought of what to say. She had to make it sound casual, she didn't want to sound desperate, or angry. She wanted to make it sound like she just wanted to talk to him, make it seem like she honestly did have a good time last night, which of course, she did. But, as she stared at the keyboard on her phone, she knew she couldn't do this over a text message.

She sighed and started to type. _'Hey, would you indulge me by buying me a coffee? I'd kind of like to talk.' _

She finished typing out her message, and proof read it a few times, even reciting it to herself aloud, making sure it sounded natural to her ears. Somewhat satisfied, she hit send and waited. His reply came just a few seconds later. She let a smile brighten its way on her face as she read is reply. _'I'd love to, Helga.' _

"He'd _love _to! He said the word love to me!" She heard the bell that was on her cat's collar ring at her side, and found him up on his back legs, standing up against her leg and meowing. "Jeffery!" She cooed as she reached down and pulled her cat up to her and cradled him in her arms. "Guess what! Arnold said the word _love _to me! _Me!_ Can you believe it?!"

"Reaow!"

"Oh, what do you know!" She let her cat go and he fell back to the floor with ease, and made his way out of the kitchen. She realized that she was acting a bit childish, but she honestly didn't care at this point. She grabbed her phone and pressed it to her chest, and let out a loving sigh. Letting her eyes drift shut, and letting her mind wander, it took her a moment to realize that he was probably waiting for her reply. Quickly looking back at her phone, she typed out another message. _'Great, same place as last week?' _

His reply took a minute, _'Sounds great, it will take a bit though, I just left work.' _

She looked at his reply in confusion. He had gone to work on a Sunday? Was that normal for him, or did he just get called in for something? She forced herself not to think about it, and went upstairs to change into a pair of blue jeans and a pink t-shirt, pulling her black fleece on over it. She pulled on her tennis shoes and redid her pony tail, pulling it back to the middle of her head, and running her fingers through her bangs.

"Hey Dad, I need to head out real quick, and I don't know exactly when I'll be back. There anything you need before I leave?" She asked as she stopped at her fathers door.

"Nah, I'm fine." He waved her off, and she went back downstairs and had just grabbed her keys when she realized that she had just called her dad 'Dad' for the first time since the divorce. She shook her head violently, _what is getting into me?!_

* * *

Arnold pulled to a stop outside the coffee shop he had brought her to after the bank robbery, and climbed out, then made his way inside, flinging the door open and scanning the faces of the customers. He spotted her looking out the window in the back, and stopped to take in her demeanor.

She looked content, she looked peaceful, she had a small, but happy smile playing at her lips. But most of all, she looked beautiful. She was in a simple outfit, a black fleece sweater that hid her curves, and a pair of light blue jeans, with her hair back in a pony tail with her bangs hanging over her forehead but not covering her eyes. While she did look sexy in that dress from last night, it was outfits like this one that she looked beautiful in.

He started towards the small table and he smiled softly when she looked over and met his eyes, returning his soft smile with a sheepish one just before she averted her eyes down to the table and ran her fingers behind her ear. "Good night," He said with a smirk as he pulled out the chair across from her.

She looked up and arched her brow in confusion. "Huh?"

"You never gave me a chance to say good night, so... good night."

She laughed, and he could tell that she wasn't reserving her smile, which made her that much more beautiful to him. "Yeah, um... sorry about that."

There was a pause for a moment as things had just seemed to get awkward between them. "Listen, Helga..." He began while he leaned back in his chair, "if I crossed the line last night, by kissing you, then I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, you didn't. It's just that I... well, you kissing me didn't really figure into my original plans for the night."

"You mean your plan to tease me with that dress, act cold, distant and indifferently towards me, then leave me to come back, begging you to give me another chance?" While she was looking at him like he had just accused her of murder, he had a small grin on his face.

"You... but..."

"Helga, I've been trained to read people. Did you really think I wouldn't eventually catch on? I knew you were still mad at me for standing you up, and you were right to be. _I _haven't even really forgiven myself yet."

"You mean to tell me that you _knew _what I was doing the entire time, and you didn't say anything?"

"Well, I didn't know the _entire _time, it did take me a while to figure out."

"Well, when _did _you find out?"

"When I told you that I took my very first personal day, just for that date. You looked a little guilty, and I knew it had something to do with that bottle of wine that's still sitting in the back of my car."

Helga chuckled dryly, and shook her head solemnly. "I'm sorry for the way I was acting."

"Don't worry about it, it actually made things more interesting."

"Really? I thought you were having a bad time?"

"Are you kidding? Last night was the best date I've ever been on, I had a lot of fun."

"Yeah... yeah, me too."

The air turned silent again and they were both thinking of where to go next, which topic to broach, and he knew that it had to be brought up at some point, and that they really did need to talk about it, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, he didn't want to push the issue if she had regretted her actions last night. "So... um, bit of an elephant in the room, but... we kissed."

She looked up at him nervously to gauge his expression when he said it, and he looked about as hesitant about it as she was. "Um, yeah, we did."

"And it's not that we kissed that's been bugging me, but... what happened after."

Helga paused again and leaned forward on her forearms, screwing her face together, "I-I'm never this forward, but... it's the only way I can think of to explain my actions. So just... bare with me. When we kissed, did you... I mean, how did it... feel, to you?"

It was clear to him that saying what she had just said took a great deal of effort on her part, and that being acknowledged, if she really needed to ask in order to explain her actions, then the least he could do was be honest. "Like it ended _far _too soon." Her eyes snapped back up to his in surprise, and judging by how wide her's were, she had not expected that to be his answer. "It may sound crazy, but I could still feel your lips on mine this morning when I woke up." He said, looking down to the floor on his side and shaking his head.

_I'm not imagining this, am I? Did he just say the exact same thing that I had gone through, he went through too? _"I... I thought it was just me." She replied under her breath.

"So, if we both agree that the kiss we shared last night was, in a word, unbelievable... why _did _you slam the door in my face?"

"Because I was scared..." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Of... what, exactly?"

"It just... caught me off guard. I mean, I was suppose to leave you a blubbering puddle of goo at the end of the night, but instead we end up kissing, and not only that, it was a _great _kiss. I guess everything that had happened just sort of, slapped me in the face all at once, and I didn't know how to handle it. So I did the only thing I was ever good at and I ran." He took a moment to let her explanation sink it, and take its place in his own diagnosis of last night, and it made some sense, in its own way. "But, I will agree, and take full blame, that it ended _way _too soon."

He laughed silently to himself, appreciating her ability to go from being completely serious about something, to being her old sarcastic self in the blink of an eye. "Well, why don't we cash in that rain check for a movie this afternoon? We take it from there."

She lifted her eyes fully to him with a soft smile, "I'd like that."

He smiled and stood up, with her following suit. They walked outside and stopped to turn and face each other. Unlike the night before, this time the air didn't feel anxious, it wasn't rushing him to do something, it was simply nudging him in her direction. He looked down at her hands that lay by her sides, and reached down and took them in his, surprising her by the action. "Just giving you a little more warning this time," He whispered as he shuffled forward.

"You sure it's not so I don't shove you again?" She whispered back as she let her eyes fall down to his approaching lips.

He laughed dryly, "Well, that too." Her eye lids slowly drifted shut as she felt the first of his warm breath fan off of her, just as it had last night, but instead of making her go rigid, this time it only made her desire to kiss him spike. He squeezed her hands in his briefly, and slowly pressed his lips to hers. She sucked in a slow breath in through her nose as his soft lips sat against hers. And with her mind being clear, his lips felt _so_ much better against hers.

Deciding that they would probably feel even better in a deeper kiss, she lifted up on the balls of her feet and pressed her lips to his further, feeling euphoria fuzz her mind. He let her mouth go, but his lips didn't leave hers, and instead moved against hers as their breaths intertwined between them. As their lips landed on each others again in the deepest kiss they had shared yet, she felt her hands grow cold when he let go, and this action was enough to cause her to moan into his mouth, but she was silenced when she felt his hands gently press against her waist, tugging her into him.

Her entire body felt warm as the feeling of him pulling her into him enveloped her. And while she hadn't regained full thought yet, she did have enough of it to realize that her arms were now hanging out by her sides, not doing anything for her own good. And not worried about crossing a line, she slowly weaved them around his shoulders, and pulled herself up to him. He deepened the kiss even further when she did this by sucking her bottom lip between his, then letting it go, which earned him another involuntary moan.

And as they opened their mouths to kiss each other again, she couldn't stop her tongue from darting out ahead of her and into his, with which she felt his brush against hers. She pulled it out and finally broke the kiss, and leaned back, setting her feet fully back on the ground, while she remained floating. _I just french kissed Arnold in broad day light! _

She slowly pulled open her eye lids, to find his closed, his lips still puckered out, obviously missing the contact that had just been severed. Seeing his eye start to flutter open, she saw his eyes were a bit hazy. "Was that long enough for you?" She muttered, now realizing that they were still wrapped in each others embrace, with her arms around his shoulders, and his hands on her waist.

"Not nearly..."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is a little short, but I couldn't find an organic break in the chapter other than this. But, I did answer the questions surrounding Gerald and Phoebe. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

"Okay, I've got another one for you. DC or Marvel?"

Helga scoffed and waved her hand at him, "No contest, DC."

"What? You've got to be kidding!" Arnold said with bilious look.

"Two words: Martian... Manhunter." She replied, holding up two fingers in his face.

They had decided to walk to the movies to see what was playing, since the theater was just a couple blocks away. And they somehow started to compare different things they were into, such as music, movies, dogs or cats, and now, their preference in comics. "Who is that?"

"The simple fact that you have to ask just shows how naive you really are." She answered with a confident smile. "And besides, DC has done every superhero Marvel has, but better. Just look at Green Arrow and Hawk eye, Green Arrow has one thing that the other guy doesn't, the boxing glove arrow. Thus ending all of your arguments."

Arnold just shook his head and chuckled to himself, "We are such nerds."

She laughed in response and bumped his side. He was actually surprised to find out that they differed on almost every subject he had brought up. While he was into smooth jazz, she was into independent folk, while he was a dog person, she loved cats, or more specifically _her _cat, and while he enjoyed comedies, she enjoyed horror, simply because she always found them hilarious for some odd reason. But despite all of it, not to mention their polar opposite personalities, they were getting along great so far.

Just one block to go before they reached the movie theater, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket once, telling him that he had received another text message. He groaned and pulled it out, _'I'm not sorry for what I said, Helga's bad news.' _He groaned again and shoved his phone angrily back into his pocket.

"What is it?" She asked, obviously noticing his sudden anger toward his cell phone.

"It's nothing, it was just Gerald being stupid."

"Why do you even talk to that slime ball?!" She spat, a scowl appearing on her previously smiling face.

Arnold did a slight double take as he looked over to her in surprise, he knew that they never really got along, and he knew one side of their story, but why Helga harbored such hatred for him left him with questions. "You seem pretty hostile towards him."

"Well, what do you expect when he screws over my best friend?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you mean to tell me he didn't bag about it in the locker room to all of you?"

"It would help if I knew what you were talking about..."

She sighed as her scowl deepened. "The summer before junior year, a couple months before I left, Phoebe came banging on my door one morning in tears. I opened the door and she ran into my arms and cried for a solid hour before I got her to settle down and tell me what was wrong. She told me that Gerald had _finally _asked her out, and had swept her off of her feet in one night, and she ended up sleeping with him. She woke up that morning and he was gone. He used her. He got what he wanted and threw her aside like she was nothing. He played on her feelings for him and took something from her that she can never get back! It tore her apart, and it took every fiber of my being not to kill him. Phoebe made me promise to forget about him and leave him alone. So tell me, why do you still talk to that _shit-bag?" _

Arnold had never heard this side of things before, and he could have never imagined it would be like this. This brought Gerald into a new light that Arnold had a hard time coping with. After all, he actually respected women, but to hear that his 'best friend' had done something like this just... sickened him. "He... Gerald told me that Phoebe talked to him after they slept together and told him that she just wanted to be friends..."

"Yeah well, he lied. What he did to Phoebe devastated her."

"I-I uh... I didn't know."

"I worked with her for weeks to try and get her back on her feet again so she could face the world. Before that she was always so fragile and shy, but now she's not afraid of anything. She never lets _anyone _treat her with disrespect, but she still has a heart of gold. Even now, I'm still very proud of her for overcoming what she went through." A soft smile appeared on her face with a faraway look in her blue eyes. He always wondered how Phoebe managed to come out of her shell so much in such a short time. He still remembered in her senior year of high school, how she shot down every single guy that asked her to the prom.

Ever since Helga had left for Portland, Phoebe had held her head high, and kept her back straight, practically glowing with confidence, and it reminded him so much of Helga. Now he knew why. He always respected Phoebe, and he even considered her to be a very good friend, one of the few that he had kept from the old days close to him. With Gerald's new found 'I'm the best thing that ever happened to women' attitude, Arnold felt it very hard to stomach being around him. And since Phoebe showed such a strong strength and confidence that reminded him so much of Helga, even though she was still very friendly most of the time toward him, he found a good friend in her despite her apparently secret hatred for Gerald.

"To be honest, it's hard for me to be around Gerald lately. Ever since he adopted this whole chauvinistic attitude, he was just embarrassing to be around." He was honestly ashamed to call Gerald his friend now. He could tell that their friendship had took a downward turn when they reached high school. Even when he was dating Lila, Gerald had been a constant pain in his side, always asking for 'juicy' details.

"He told you that you should leave me alone, didn't he?" Helga asked in a knowing tone, bringing him out of his distant memories.

He was reluctant to tell her the truth, but he was honestly curious as to why Gerald had such hostile feelings toward her. "He called me while I was at work this morning, and said that he got a call from someone who saw us together last night at Chez Paris. When he found out it was you, he made it sound like you were the black plague or something."

"And what did you say?" She asked, probably trying to come off as sarcastic.

"I told him to call me back when he gets a sense of decency."

Helga tried to hide her blush, but luckily, he was looking forward at the sidewalk, and couldn't see her fail miserably. If there was one person in the world that Helga didn't have any other feeling for besides loathing and hatred, it was Gerald. He never even tried to be nice to her, but she could get past that because he was not the only one. But he crossed the line of redemption when he manipulated her best friend, and the one person who was always willing to stick by her, no matter what.

But, Helga was worried that Phoebe had trouble moving on from what happened. She knew about how Phoebe didn't attend her senior prom, even though she had almost half the school ask her. Phoebe just said that even though she hated him more than anything, none of the guys that asked her were Gerald. And now, Helga was worried that she still couldn't move on. But she knew she was speaking a little hypocritically, judging by the fact that she still hasn't gotten over her childhood crush. But the big difference here was that her childhood crush had actually _grown up _and became a _man_, instead of what ever the hell Gerald was.

And as this thought floated into her mind, and continued to flutter around, she looked back up to her childhood crush, and up to the _man _that the boy she once loved grew into, and felt her heart go weightless. "Arnold?" She was suddenly asking, not remembering telling her mouth to speak the word. He looked over with his usual soft smirk, and half lidded gaze, silently answering her beckoning. "Since we went out on a date last night, which we both agreed went well, and since we kissed... more than once, which we both agreed also went _very _well, I can't help but wonder... are we..." she waved her hand in a small circle, "dating?"

Seemingly unfazed by her question, and not laughing at her blatant nervousness, he pursed his lips into a thin line and squinted his eyes, looking forward again. "Well, that depends." He looked over to her, replacing his smirk, "Do _you _want to consider us as 'dating'?"

"Do you?" She asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, gauging his reaction.

"On one condition." She turned her head and raised a questioning brow, "You _will _take me to meet Jeffery." She smiled sheepishly and bumped his side again.

"Deal."

"But, if you don't mind, can you tell me why Gerald hates _you _so much. I mean, I get why you hate him, but why is the feeling mutual?"

Helga sighed again, "Despite Phoebe's wishes for me to leave him alone, I went after him the afternoon that Phoebe came to me. I found him walking out of Slausen's, laughing his ass off with Sid and Stinky, like he had done nothing wrong. I went up to him, and kneed him in the groin as hard as I could, and gave him a fat lip. And as he writhed on the ground, I spat on him and told him to stay away from Phoebe."

She was bracing herself for either a lecture from him, or for him to turn and run. She was a bit lucky when she moved to Portland with her mother a few months after that so she didn't have to deal with the rumors spinning around that incident. Getting kneed in the balls and a swollen face by someone half your size is not something to be proud of, especially when you're as chauvinistic as Gerald. But, expecting him to be angry, she peeked over at him and he was starting to giggle.

He kept on until he was laughing very loudly, "That's what happened?! He told me he got that split lip fighting off a pit bull."

"Well, in a way, a pit bull _did _come after him. He just lost... badly."

Arnold was still fighting off his laughter. He stopped their walk down the side walk with a hand on her shoulder, "Helga, you have _no _idea how much this makes me like you."

Helga's eyes went wide at his last statement, and still being the deer in the headlights, she didn't have time to react to him quickly placing a hand on her waist, and pulling her to his lips. And being pulled in my Arnold into a kiss, with his hand on her waist, with the other slowly making its way around the small of her back, he was being so casual about it. _Does he even know what this does to me? _The was angry at him, angry that she was so infatuated with him. Her feelings were a vicious cycle, but at the moment, with his lips working against hers so effortlessly, she didn't care.

She placed her hands on his upper arms, registering the sharp contour of his slightly bulging bicep beneath his dress shirt. With one final long kiss, he released her and pulled back with his same half lidded gaze and soft smirk, his lips a little swollen. It quickly changed to a slightly embarrassed blush when he saw her still wide eyed look. "I'm sorry, I just... uh... couldn't help my self."

"J-just, give me a little warning next time, will ya?" He could hear the nervous twitch in her voice, trying to act like it didn't fluster her that he basically just grabbed her by the waist and kissed her with out warning in the middle of the sidewalk. She turned and walked ahead of him, and he watched as her right hand disappeared as she reached up and placed it somewhere on her front. He smiled and jogged up next to her. He came up next to her to find her just pulling her fingertips off her lips, and shoving them down into her pockets. "Next time you kiss me without warning me, I will take your teeth with me."

The expert in reading people he was, he knew he was trying to throw him off the fact that she was still flustered. This in mind, he simply smirked a little wider, and held up his hands in feigned surrender. "Whatever you say, Helga."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This chapter is a bit of a dozey. Hope you guys don't hate me! Let me know by REVIEWING!**

* * *

"I have to warn you, Jeffery doesn't like men." Helga said as they ascended the steps of her stoop.

"Why's that?"

"When he was a kitten, I had a blind date with this guy, and after he drove me home, after making me pay for the entire meal, I opened the door and Jeffery tried to run out, and this guy grabs him and tosses him back in the house. Ever since then, Jeffery gets all worked up whenever another guy is around. He's also pretty protective of me." She dug out her keys and unlocked her door, pushing it open and letting him follow her in.

As far as he can remember, her house didn't look much different. But he hadn't been to her house since middle school to work on a school project. He closed the door behind him, and waited. Hearing a bell jingle, he looked over to the stairs and saw a tabby running down the stairs toward Helga. "Hey you!" Helga cooed as she bent down to pick her cat up. She cradled Jeffery in her arms and scratched his head, which he seemed to be enjoying thoroughly, since Arnold could hear the cat purring from his place a good six feet away.

Helga let Jeffery fall back down to the ground, and Jeffery started to rub against Helga's leg, until Jeffery saw Arnold standing by the door. His eyes, once a thin black line, now widened into two large black circles, as his ears went back. Helga looked back to Arnold, then down to her cat, gauging her cat's reaction toward him. The cat took a few cautious steps toward the intruder, stopped once he had knelt down, and then continued to stalk towards him.

Arnold held out his hand, waiting for Jeffery to come up and sniff it. After a minute, Jeffery came close enough to stretch out his neck enough to sniff Arnold's hand. His eyes still very wide, and his ears still back, Jeffery sniffed Arnold's fingers for a minute, then, to Helga's utter surprise, rubbed against them. Arnold chuckled and started to scratch Jeffery's chin, and he started to purr. "I don't believe it..." Helga muttered. "He never lets anyone pet him besides me. Not even Phoebe has ever gotten to pet him before."

"What's that say about me?" He asked, scratching the top of the tabby's head a few times before standing back up.

Helga looked down to her cat as he started to run against Arnold's leg, just as he had her's just a minute ago, and she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. After all, this was _her _cat, this cat lived for her attention, and hers alone, but here he was, rubbing up against what might has well have been a complete stranger. "It says that either you have cat nip in your pocket, or my cat has gone crazy."

"Or maybe I'm just a nice guy?" He asked with a smirk.

"No, my cat has brain damage, that's all. Can I offer you something to drink?" She politely asked, pointing toward her kitchen.

"Sure." He said with another smile, feeling Jeffery rub up against his leg once more.

"Okay, why don't you head into the kitchen and I'll be down in a minute. I have to go check on Bob. It's weird for him not to bellow for me when he hears the door open." Arnold watched as she quickly jumped up the stairs, her pony tail bouncing from side to side as she ascended. He sighed despite himself, and turned to head into the kitchen.

Sitting down on one of the stools in front of the island, he looked around at Helga's home. While this place had remained the same through out the years, with the same pictures hung up, the same furnishings in every room, one thing here had changed, Helga. Last time he was here, she was still his personal bully, whose only purpose in life was to make his a living hell for him. He still remembers loathing the idea of having to work with her on a school project at first, but they did end up getting an A, so maybe having to put up with her attitude at the time was worth it.

Thinking back on the movie theater, he hadn't felt so comfortable, and uncomfortable at the same time with someone before. Her presence was soothing to him, she calmed him, she made it feel as if the weight of the world was not bearing on his shoulders. And yet, if they were not joined at the lips, or any part of them was touching, he had to deal with the irresistible pull that she gave off. He felt the same thing in Rachel, or what he thought what the same thing, but the difference then was that he actually acted on it. He would pull her in and kiss her whenever possible, he would hold her hand, or wrap his arm around her shoulder whenever they were walking together. Even when they were sitting together watching TV, their sides had to be smashed together.

But that didn't last long. Soon, that pull started to fade, and all he wanted was space and seclusion, to just be alone. Or maybe not just alone, maybe it was just that he wanted to be away from her. He couldn't help but think that it was the ladder. But with Helga, feeling that same pull, and resisting it, only made that pull stronger, making it that much harder to resist.

He didn't want to consider them as a 'couple' yet, after all they had only been on two dates, and had only kissed three times. And while all three of those seemed to take his breath away, and both of the dates they went on went fairly well all things considered, that still didn't mean that she wanted a _boyfriend_. True, she had asked if they were 'dating', but does that insinuate that they are boyfriend and girlfriend? While it probably would in high school, they were grown up now, and things were different. If she viewed this as just a casual thing, then he wouldn't push her into a serious relationship, and if she did think of this as a serious relationship, how far could he go until she thought it was moving too fast?

He sighed heavily, and realized that he had been left alone with his thoughts for too long. Curious, he slid off of the stool and slowly started out of the kitchen. "_ARNOLD!" _She screamed loud enough for her voice to crack.

His body now in overdrive, he quickly ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time, and then ran into the room where he heard her loud scream come from. He stopped at the one open door in the long hallway and his eyes immediately went to Helga, who was standing a few feet away from the bed, taking small steps backward. His body was still running on adrenaline until he looked over to the bed, and his stomach dropped.

His pulse slammed in his throat, and he didn't realize that Helga had kept shuffling backward, and was now about to hit against him. His eyes still locked onto the sight in front of him, Helga bumped into him, and she quickly spun around, startled. It was enough to break his stare and shift it down to the distraught woman in front of him.

Her eyes were already overflowing with tears, and he could see the utter devastation portrayed in her features. He was trained on what to do in these types of situations, but right now, he couldn't think of a damn thing. So, he did the only thing that came to him. He quickly pulled her into him, and she wasted no time in throwing her arms around his neck, and burying her face into his shoulder.

Her body rocked with sobs the instant his arms went around her, and his hand started to rub against her upper back in a petty attempt to sooth her. "He's dead... he's really dead..." She murmured, her speech broken with heavy sobs. He let out a shaky breath, and reached into his pocket for his cell phone, hitting speed dial two and placing it against his ear.

"Dispatch, this is Arnold Shortman with the Hostage Negotiating Squad, I need an ambulance at 3450 Vine street. Code 560."

* * *

"We had just gotten out of a movie, and we decided to take her car back to her place. We walked in and she said that she was going upstairs to check on him. I stayed downstairs for a few minutes before I heard her scream. I ran upstairs and saw her in her father's room, and he was lying on his bed, with his eyes still open."

"And then you called dispatch?"

"Yeah, she was shaken up, and she probably wouldn't have been in her right mind to call anyone. I don't want to think what would have happened to her if I hadn't been here."

"She told us that he had been suffering from a heart condition for a few months now, can you confirm this?"

Arnold stopped, and looked up at the officer, across from him, staring at him angrily. After a moment, the officer looked up from his clipboard. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm just trying to-"

"Do you actually think _she _did this?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all, Mr. Shortman, I just need to get the facts straight until the M.E. can confirm cause of death. I'm not saying that she actually killed her father. If you ask me, she honestly seems distraught." The uniformed officer pointed over to the squad car, where she was leaning against the hood, a thermal blanket wrapped around her shoulders, with a far away look in her puffy red eyes.

"You're talking to a person who is trained in body language, I _know _she is distraught. She was sobbing into my shoulder for ten minutes before you guys got here. So you don't need to tell me that she's distraught." He was getting irritated, but there were some things about law enforcement that he didn't like, and one was the myth that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. He's sat in on more than enough interrogations to know that it's the other way around for most investigative detectives.

"Smithers!" A familiar voice was booming across the street. Arnold and the now startled officer's eyes were now locked upon Arnold's captain, who was walking towards them. "You're talking to Arnold Shortman, best negotiator on the eastern sea board. If he says that that young woman didn't do anything, and what she says is true, then you need to write that down and get back to work."

"Y-yes, sir." The officer quickly scampered away and into the hail of flashing lights on the street.

"What are you doing here?" Arnold asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. I'm about to sit down to a glass of wine with the misses, and I get a call that Shortman is requesting an ambulance for a heart attack victim. What's going on, Shortman?"

Arnold looked over to Helga, who was still staring off into space, and let out a heavy sigh. "She's a friend of mine from high school. We went to a movie this afternoon, and we decided to take her car back to her place. She found her father lying on his bed. He had been suffering from a heart problem for a few months, and she had moved back to town to take care of him. I'm guessing that he suffered another heart attack, and since no one was around... he died."

His captain paused and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know what she's doing, don't you?"

"She's blaming herself. She's telling herself that if she hadn't gone to the movies with me, then she could have been there, and he would still be alive. Or, she's telling herself that if it wasn't for me asking her to the movies, then she never would have gone out, and she might have been able to save him. Either way, I know one thing for sure. She can't stay here tonight."

"You have something in mind?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Arnold nodded, just hoping to get his captain off his back about it. Luckily, he simply nodded and started back to his car. Arnold sighed and dug out his cell phone again, dialing Phoebe's number. After the third ring, he knew that she wasn't picking up. _'This is Phoebe Heyerdahl, I can't get to the phone right now, so please leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.' _He sighed and decided to leave a message. "Hey Phoebe, it's Arnold. Listen, Helga's father suffered a fatal heart attack this afternoon. I know she won't stay at home, and I was hoping she could stay with you. If you don't call me back in an hour, I'm taking her to my place. Get back to me." He hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket.

Looking back up to Helga, he readied himself and started toward her. He slowed his stride with in a few feet of her, and quietly made his way to her side, and leaned beside her on the squad car she was leaning against. He knew she wouldn't talk to him voluntarily, and he had dealt with enough distraught people to know how to handle this situation, but the difference here was that this was _Helga. _

He was close to her, he knew her. She wasn't just another person that he was sent in to talk to. She was his friend. Hell, they had just kissed each other this afternoon. He still remembers the light in her eyes as he saw her ghosting her fingers across her lips after he had kissed her. But now, that light was long gone, replaced with a dried eyed, lifeless stare. Taking a chance, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and started to rub her upper arm in another petty attempt to sooth her.

"Hey," He prodded, but to no avail, "I called Phoebe and asked her if you could stay at her place tonight. I'm waiting for her to call me back. If she doesn't call me back in an hour, than you can sleep at my apartment. And don't worry, I'll take the couch, and my bedroom has a lock on it, so..." His attempt to make her smile fell very flat, as it didn't even garner a look from her. "It's not your fault, Helga. He had a heart attack, there's nothing that you could have done."

"He was my father..."

Her voice was not even a whisper, and it took him a minute to analyze what she had said.

"He was my father and I treated him like nothing more than a burden."

"Helga, you can't blame yourself for-"

"He called me Helga this morning." He watched as a tear leaked out onto already tear stained cheeks. "For the first time in twenty years, he actually called me Helga." The only thing he could to was watch in anguish as her bottom lip started to quiver again, and a new flood of tears started to flow. "He actually called me by the right name."

As she broke in front of him for the second time that night, he pulled her into his shoulder again, and again, she wasted no time in wrapping her arms around him, and stifling her cries in his shoulder. He closed his eyes placed his lips on her scalp, not kissing it, simply trying to let her know that he cared. And as she continued to cry, he was starting to hope that Phoebe wouldn't call and that he could spend the next hours calming her down, getting to hug her, just like this until she had cried herself out, then he could carry her to his bed, place her under his covers, and know that for tonight, she would be safe.

But his hopes were dashed when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here's another chapter! Don't hate me you guys! But, I would like to thank Foreveran80'skid for inspiring me to make the story take a dramatic turn, and I'm not talking about the one in this chapter. Stay tuned to find out what I mean.**

* * *

Phoebe crept out into her living room, to finally see Helga asleep. She sighed a heavy sigh of relief and walked into her small kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

It had been a hectic night for both of them, but Phoebe's night must have been nothing compared to Helga's. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but when she had listened to that voice mail from Arnold, where he told her that Helga's father had suffered a _fatal _heart attack, her first thought was what was she going to do now? The only reason she ever came back into town was for her father. Now, she had just lost what little family she had left, however distant and pig-headed Bob may have been, Phoebe knew that he was still her father.

She was grateful for Arnold for trying his best to console her. He was the best, but sometimes, the only thing you can do is just be next to them, sometimes there's nothing you can say. He obviously knew that when he called her. He probably knew that Helga would be _very _uncomfortable staying with him for the night, and she knew Arnold would never take advantage of a situation like the one Helga was now in.

She hasn't said a word to her since she picked her up. She simply ushered her into the passenger seat of her car, then sat her down on her couch. After shaking her head at the offer of tea, or coffee, Phoebe wrapped a blanket around her best friends shoulders and went into her bedroom, after failing to figure out what to do. Once she closed her bedroom door, she could her the broken sobs as clear as day. They lasted well into the night, so seeing Helga resting relatively peacefully made her feel like she had done something right. But there was still a long road ahead.

Phoebe didn't want to imagine what it was like for her when her mother had died of liver failure. Helga had told her in an e-mail that her and her mother were finally friends, that she felt that she actually had a mother who loved her for the first time in her life. But, the reaper swung his sickle anyway, leaving Helga devastated. She had already been through more than someone as talented and headstrong as Helga should have to go through. But what was worse was that she had to go through it alone, not that there was no one there for her, Phoebe had _always _offered her support, but Helga didn't always take it. It was when times were the hardest that she pushed herself into seclusion.

Phoebe looked upon her friend, whose eyes were still red rimmed, and puffy from heavy crying and drying her eyes roughly. There was a very soft knock on her door, and in the stillness of her apartment, it was too loud. Phoebe set her coffee cup down on the counter and went to answer it. She unlocked the door as quietly as possible and opened the door, to find Arnold standing in the hallway, holding Helga's cat under his arm. "Arnold, what are you doing here?" She asked in a whisper.

"I brought Jeffery over for Helga to try and make her feel better. I had to sneak him out, they had Helga's house taped off."

This news came as a shock to Phoebe, not the fact that Helga's home had been taped off, although that was odd. It was the fact that he was actually holding Jeffery and not getting his face clawed off. "How did you manage to get him? Helga told me that he hates everyone but her."

"I don't know, he trusts me?" He said in an honest shrug. Jeffery had seemed to sense Helga's presence in the next room and began to wiggle under Arnold's arm. He set the cat down, and watched him rush into Phoebe's apartment, and over to the couch that was against the wall. Jeffery didn't waste anytime in jumping up on the couch, and settling himself on the arm rest, just above Helga's head. "How's she doing?"

Phoebe sighed again and pushed him out into the hall way, closing the door behind her. "I honestly don't know. She wouldn't talk to me all night. She just kept staring off into space. I couldn't even get her to change into something to sleep in." Phoebe was beginning to feel the guilt of not being able to help her friend the best she could, but she had to remember who she was dealing with. "Did she say anything to you?"

"The only thing she said to me... was that Bob called her Helga yesterday morning. She said for the first time in twenty years, he actually called her by the right name. I'm worried about her, Phoebe."

"Me too, Arnold. But this is Helga we're dealing with, you know how she is. Times like this, she feels that if she doesn't stand alone, then she won't be able to stand at all. _I_ can't get her to open up to me and I'm her best friend."

"Helga's just a strong personality."

"Arnold, why was her house taped off?"

Arnold let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "You can't tell Helga any of this." Phoebe nodded sharply. "I asked my captain this morning, and he said that they haven't ruled out foul play. They said their waiting on the autopsy report to come back with a tox-screen."

"Wait, they _actually _think that she killed her father?" At this point, Phoebe was already fuming.

"Phoebe, you know how these homicide detectives work. They work on statistics, and right now, statistically speaking, Helga's the prime suspect."

"Helga _didn't _kill her father!" She spat.

"Phoebe, I was with her when she found the body. I know she didn't kill her father, she was with me all day."

"I swear, the last thing she needs right now is to have a bunch of homicide detective desk monkeys accusing her of murder."

"That's not going to happen, Phoebe. I'm going to try and use my reputation to put in a good word for her. In the mean time, I think it's best if she stay with one of the best lawyers out of the DA's office." Arnold said with a raised brow. Phoebe nodded again, now very determined to protect her. "I have to get back to work, call me if she needs anything." Within moments, Arnold was down the hall and around the corner out of sight.

Now very enraged at the very idea that Helga was being thought of as a murderer, Phoebe tried her best not to slam the door shut as she returned inside. She swung the door open and was about to slam in, letting her anger get the best of her, until she saw Jeffery's wide eye stare from his place on the arm rest, and saw Helga still sleeping soundly. Letting out a calming breath, she slowly shut the door, and locked it behind her.

She walked back into her kitchen and grabbed her coffee cup and took a sip, leaning against the stove and watching as her friend slept, with her faithful companion purring while he snuggled himself tighter against her head. The news that police might rule Bob's death a murder would be overwhelming to Helga, and she knew it. But she had to tell her. And with Helga's home now an active crime scene, she couldn't go home. Arnold was right, if anyone was going to accuse Helga Pataki of murder, it would be over her dead body.

After ten silent minutes, Helga began to stir. And eventually, her eyes fluttered open, and she was pushing herself upright on the couch, while Jeffery jumped from the arm rest and into her lap. Helga reached for the ceiling to stretch, still looking very tired, and in need of a hot shower, with her hair frizzy and unkempt. "Phoebe?" Phoebe smiled, and grabbed the other cup of coffee she had just poured, and went over to the couch, watching Jeffery's eyes get wide while his ears went back, and started to growl. "Oh, stop it!" Helga ordered him while she pulled him into his side, keeping him in place by a hand stroking his back.

Phoebe sat on the other side of her, and handed her the cup of coffee. "How are you feeling?"

Helga took a sip and then fell back against the couch. "I can't believe he's dead." Jeffery started to purr again, and placed his paw up on Helga's thigh. "Did you bring him here?"

"No, actually Arnold did. He stopped by about ten minutes ago and dropped him off. He ran right to you and started sleeping against your head."

"Arnold was here?" Helga asked, seeming a little flustered by the news.

"Yeah, he brought him over to try and make you feel better." Helga smiled sadly and looked down at her cat, and started to play with his ears. Deciding to try and talk about something that would bring a real smile onto her face, Phoebe began, "So, what is it with you two?"

"Who, me and Arnold?" Phoebe nodded with a grin. "All I can say is it's complicated. I mean, we went to dinner, and that went well, then we kissed, and that went very well, then we met for a cup of coffee and kissed again, which also went very well, then we walked to the movie theater and talked... and kissed again, which also went very well, then we saw a cheesy horror movie and we drove back to my house and he met Jeffery, and that went surprisingly well. We just seem to be in this phase where we don't know what we are to each other."

"You'll figure it out, Helga. I mean, not everyone would sneak onto an active crime scene just to get you your cat for you." Phoebe's words now registered in her mind as she said them, and she already regretted opening her big mouth.

"Active crime scene?! What the hell are you talking about?"

Phoebe let out a sharp sigh, and tried to explain. "They're still waiting on the autopsy to see how Bob died. Arnold told me that they haven't ruled out foul play."

"So they think that I killed my own father!" Helga stood up, and put on a look of angry astonishment.

"Helga, no one is going to accuse you of murder if I have anything to do about it." She quickly got to her feet and braced her hands against Helga's arms. "I'm appointing myself your attorney."

Helga fell back on to the couch and placed her face in her hands, and groaned. "What happened to my life? Yesterday my biggest worry was when I'd get to kiss Arnold again, now my dad's dead, and I'm being accused of murder?! Why can't I go back to yesterday, when Arnold and I were on the sidewalk and he pulls me in and kisses me out of nowhere? I just want to go back to then..." Phoebe watched once again as her friends back started to jump is silent sobs. She wrapped her arm around her shoulder and tried to sooth her again.

"Arnold's going to try and use his reputation to get you off the suspect list. And we don't even know what the autopsy will say. Most likely, you're father died from another heart attack that you couldn't have prevented even if you had been there. But, in the ludicrous possibility that something does show up in the tox screen, and police start asking you questions, I want you to call me. These homicide detective will ask you self incriminating questions on purpose to make you seem like a killer. And if you don't have proper council, they could charge you, and I'm not going to let that happen."

"What am I suppose to do?"

"You're going to stay here. Go to work, go about your normal routine as best you can so you don't give them a reason to suspect you have anything to hide. Most likely, some police will come up to you even before the autopsy report gets back, and start asking you about your relationship with Bob, but just remember, and I can't stress this enough, you have the right to remain silent. So the first thing I want you to do is tell them to talk to your lawyer... me."

* * *

Helga let out a breath as she climbed out of her car. Her heart felt heavy, and she was tired. She didn't get a very restful sleep at all, especially considering she slept in yesterday's clothes, which she was still wearing. Luckily she had a change of clothes in her locker.

On Phoebe's orders, she decided to go into work as usual. Phoebe let her use her shower, and although her hair products weren't the same ones that she used, it felt good to simply stand there under the hot water, letting it unclench and relax her muscles that were still store from sobbing all night. She still hadn't fully wrapped her head around the fact that her father could have actually been murdered, worse yet, that police think that _she _did it. True, her relationship with her father may have been strained at best, but he was still her father. What motive would she have to kill her own father?

She braced herself before she walked in through the doors of the department store. She felt a wave of relief when no one looked upon her with pity. Since they didn't even seem to notice her, as usual, she made her way to the back and opened her locker. She grabbed the green polo shirt and jeans that were in her locker, and changed. She threw her fleece into her locker, along with t-shirt from yesterday, and went back onto the floor to get to work.

"Helga!" One of her co-workers was calling from the front desk. She looked over and groaned, _why can't I just be left alone? _

She started walking toward the front desk, until she saw two uniformed officers come into view. Her muscles locked up when they both sent a glare her way, and made their way around the front desk, and started walking toward her, with one having their hand resting on his gun in his holster. "Helga Pataki..."

"Yes?" She nervously asked.

"Turn around..."

* * *

The doors to the elevator chimed open and Arnold shoved off the wall, and walked into the bullpen.

It was early in the afternoon when he finally managed to return to work, after dropping his name to the officer posted outside Helga's home, he finally got in, and managed to sneak her cat out, knowing that Jeffery was the only one with the ability to console her. The autopsy should be in by now, and he would probably have to drop his name again to get a peek at it. He just hoped that Bob's death was really natural causes. Helga didn't need to go through being a prime suspect of a murder investigation. Because he knew that suspects were always treated like they were guilty until proven innocent.

He had a few phone calls to make to make sure that Helga was being abused by overzealous homicide detectives. He knew all too well how they worked, and he had to make sure that they treated her with respect. Once he had gotten to his desk and sat down, the captain was calling him into his office. "Shortman!" Arnold looked over and he was being waved in. Arnold groaned silently and stood up.

"Yes, sir?"

"This came for you this morning." His captain handed him a tan folder. Arnold took it from him and opened it, quickly scanning the report to look at cause of death.

"This can't be right." Arnold said to his captain, as he reread the report again.

"I don't know what to tell you, Shortman. Those are the facts."

"It's a mistake!"

"The M.E. did blood work twice, it's no mistake. Bob Pataki died of cyanide poisoning."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: For those of you who don't know, before I decided to start writing Hey Arnold! fan fiction, I was writing Castle fanfiction, so I have written my fair share of case work. That being said, I know a lot of you have already decided who the killer is, but I am not giving away any spoilers. But stay tuned as I continue to post new chapters. **

**(My Castle fanfiction is under MJRMutation for those of you in the Castle fandom.)**

Helga was sitting in a cinder block room, in a metal chair with her hands bound in handcuffs. She wasn't frantic, or bawling her eyes out, she was just mad. How could they think that she killed her own father?

The door to the room opened, and in walked two, tall white men, with their badges displayed on their belts. One slapped a folder onto the table, while the other pulled out one of the two chairs and sat down across from her, while the other leaned against his knuckles, both glaring at her. "Ms. Pataki, where were you yesterday morning between the hours of seven and nine AM?" The detective sitting across from her asked.

"I was at home drinking coffee."

"Can anyone confirm that?" The other one asked.

"My cat..." She sassed, honestly pissed off with what they are insinuating.

"Try to be serious, Ms. Pataki. You're looking at first degree murder."

"I didn't kill my dad!"

"You were taking care of him for the past few months weren't you?" The first one asked her, flipping open the file in front of him.

"Yeah..."

"You were preparing all of his meals, yes?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because we found this in your bedroom." The second one stated, pulling out a clear, plastic evidence bag from out behind his back, and throwing it onto the table in front of her. She looked down in denial at the empty syringe in front of her. "Care to explain?"

"That's not mine..."

"You're gonna have to do better than that." The first one said.

"What would I have to gain from killing my father?"

"We spoke to your neighbors, and they all said that your relationship with your father was strenuous."

"Were my finger prints on this?"

"...no..."

She decided to pull out the one thing she had been holding in her back pocket for a while now. "I have a measured IQ of around 175. Now, according to the police laws, no one that has an IQ over 125 is allowed to be a cop. And since you have to be a cop before you become a detective, that makes me smarter than you. That being said, if I was smart enough to wear gloves when I used this, why was I not smart enough to get rid of it?"

"Ms. Pataki, the evidence points to you. You're father was poisoned with cyanide, which was ingested in something he ate, and since you just told us that you prepared his meals for him, that's means, your neighbors said that they would always hear him yell at you, that's motive, and you could have placed something by his bedside at anytime, that's opportunity. Now how do you explain that?"

The interrogation room door suddenly bursts open, and all three sets of eyes shot over to the door to where Helga's savior stood. "Don't answer that." She ordered, pointing at Helga.

"Who are you?"

"If you aren't charging my client with anything, then she is free to go."

"We have evidence against your client."

"Evidence which is all circumstantial! Now unless you have _hard _evidence that points directly to my client, then I suggest you release her out of your custody before I make a call to the chief of detectives and tell him that you two interrogated my client without her councilor being present." There was a moment of intense silence, as Phoebe stared down the two detectives, not backing down at all.

The detective standing walked around and unlocked her cuffs. Rubbing her wrist, Helga stood up, and followed Phoebe as she stormed out and over toward the elevator. She could still feel the detectives eyes bore into her. The doors to the elevator chimed and Helga followed Phoebe as she stepped inside. Phoebe remained stoic until the doors slid shut. Phoebe dropped her brief case to the floor and wrapped her arms around her, and Helga hugged her back. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I-I'm fine." She tried to calm herself down as Phoebe started to run her hand up and down her back. "I've never been treated like that before. They just kept telling me that I killed my father."

"Helga, it's not your fault. They broke protocol when they didn't let you call me. They should be suspended. From now on, if anyone with a badge comes up to you and starts asking you questions, tell them to talk to your lawyer. That will shut them up."

"Phoebe, what am I going to do? Every one thinks I'm a murderer."

Phoebe was long passed pissed off. The police had just dragged her best friend out of her job in handcuffs, didn't let her make a call, like every person is entitled to, they interrogated her without her lawyer present, and Phoebe had to hear about it from a rumor going around her office. "No one thinks that, Helga. They are just trying to close a case. Don't worry about it. Next time they try and question you, I'll be there, I promise."

Helga smiled sadly and nodded. Hearing the doors open, Helga followed Phoebe out of the police station and into her car. "Arnold said he went down to the morgue and try and 'charm' the medical examiner. He should be waiting at his place for us now."

Helga simply nodded and let Phoebe drive her through the streets of Hillwood. In less than twelve hours, her life had been flipped upside down, and shaken. It was hard enough to think that her father had simply died, but the thought of him being taken from her? Yes, there were a million and one reasons to kill Bob Pataki, but none of them mattered because of one thing, he was her father. And as unexplainable as it might be, she still loved him like a father, just like she loved her mother. Ten minutes later, they were pulling to a stop at the curb of an apartment building. Phoebe brought Helga out of her thousand yard stare by closing her door. Helga looked up to see Phoebe already heading inside the doors of the building she was stopped in front of.

Helga got out and caught up to Phoebe just as the elevator doors opened. All in all, she felt that she was handling herself pretty well, considering that she was just falsely accused of murder, and on top of that, her father's death had been ruled a murder in the first place. She was surprised that she was still standing beneath all of this pressure. Maybe she was stronger than she thought.

The elevator doors chimed, and they slid open, and Phoebe was already down the left hallway. After two doors, she was stopped and was knocking on the door in front of them. The door flung open and she was surprised at the slightly frantic looking person in front of them. "Phoebe, is she..."

Phoebe silenced him with a raised hand, and walked around him and into his apartment, leaving Helga out of sight a bit. Arnold took a step out into the hall way and a smiled erupted onto his face. "Helga!" He took a large step toward her, taking her by surprise as he wrapped his arms around her midsection, hugging her tightly. She heard him let out a deep sigh into her ear, and she felt her eyes drift shut.

As she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, she didn't know what this feeling was. She just felt safe. Somehow, he had managed to make her feel like the whole world wasn't out to get her, he was able to make her actually believe that everything was going to be okay, like he was always saying it was going to be. He was able to make it an actual promise. She ran her hands around his bare, toned shoulders, and laid her cheek down onto it, feeling him snake his arms further around her.

"I was so worried about you, are you okay?" He whispered into her ear.

Even though she felt that if he let her go, then she would break down, she felt tears start to burn at the back of her eyes. It was his tone, it was shaky, it was as if he actually, truly, deeply cared for her, and she didn't have the heart to tell him that she was just the tiniest bit scared. "Yeah, I'm fine." She whispered back. He slid his hands back until they were at her sides, and he leaned back enough to where she could had to force her head to leave the restful place on his shoulder.

"I'm on a first name basis with the commissioner, so you can bet on him getting a call about this." She felt her cheeks light up as a bright smile shined through. What she ever did to deserve such devoted friends who cared for her so much, she will never know. Bashful, she let her head fall forward and let her gaze fall down to the floor. "Helga," He beckoned, surprising her again by cupping her cheek with his warm hand, bringing her back up to look him in the eye. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She let her eyes close again, and nodded once. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just hard, that's all."

"That's what she said..."

Her eyes flew open in shock at this man, who was now wearing a playful smirk, under his half lidded gaze. _Did Arnold Shortman just make a 'that's what she said' joke? _Despite the utter disbelief she felt at this, she felt herself start to laugh. "Really?" She asked over her laughter.

"It's a great way to diffuse intense situations. I learn about it in college." Helga simply shook her head, and didn't know where the thought came from, but she reached up again and wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him again, feeling his hands press her into him by the small of her back. _This man is unbelievable! _He would stop at nothing to leave her a smiling fool.

After reluctantly releasing him from her hug, he grabbed onto her hand and they walked into his apartment together, to find Phoebe standing in the middle of his living room, her arms crossed. "Arnold, put on a shirt."

He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, his blush quite obvious. "Sorry, I was driving myself a little crazy before you guys got here." She didn't have the guts to call out and tell him to stop pulling his dress shirt back on. She had never had the privilege of seeing him in anything other than his work clothes, so seeing him in a wife beater, which hugged against his sharp muscles very nicely was a real treat. But, she stayed silent as he flung his pale blue dress shirt over his shoulders, and started to button it back up.

"What did you find out at the morgue?" Phoebe asked, getting right down to business.

"Arnold, do you have a bathroom around here?" Helga asked quietly, placing a hand on his now covered shoulder.

"Yeah, its right down the hall. Make yourself at home." He said with a smile. He stayed silent until she was down the hall and behind the door of his bathroom. "I talked to the M.E., and she said that Bob was poisoned by someone injecting cyanide in the top of a bottle of water. The bottle of water was found under the bed, only half full. The bottle didn't have Helga's finger prints on it either. Some one is trying to frame her."

"Do you think you can pull a few strings and get me the case files? If someone is trying to frame my best friend, I want to know who."

"Sure."

"In the mean time, I have to get back to the office to take care of a few things. I'm leaving you the extra key to my apartment to give to her." Phoebe handed him a key ring with a single key on it, and he took it with a silent nod, while Phoebe stepped around him. "And also, see if you can't get Helga's clothes back. I don't want her wearing the same thing until she's cleared."

"I'll think of something."

Phoebe continued to the door, and had just placed her hand on the knob, until she spun back around and took a few steps toward him, stopping just a few inches away from him, and narrowing her eyes up at him angrily. "And if I find out that you took advantage of the situation for your own personal gain, I will _end _you."

Arnold, having been honestly insulted, gently pushed her away, "You know me better than that, Phoebe." He hissed. She simply spun back around on a heel, and went out the door.

It was a minute later that Helga emerged from the bathroom, looking around the living room with a straight brow. "Where's Phoebe?"

"She had to go back to her office for something."

A shot of nervousness came through her in a wave. She was now standing in Arnold's apartment... alone, with Arnold. What was she going to do? He knew that he would never try anything, but it wasn't him she was worried about, it was her. She had just gotten a peek at Arnold's toned body, and she was worried that a peek wouldn't suffice. "Uh..." The apartment now held a tense silence, watching Arnold tap the key in his hand against his other, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Can I get you anything? Have you eaten anything today?"

She shook her head at the images of sweat slicked skin that were flashing in her mind, and thought about it for a second. "N-no, I haven't. And now that I think about it, I'm starving. Want to go get something?"

He chuckled, and started around her. "Nonsense, I'll make something."

"_You'll _make something?" She asked as she turned around to follow him into his kitchen.

"Yeah, I learned to cook when I was in college, and I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself."

"Well, I'll have to see it to believe it." She said as she sat herself up on one of the stools that was on the other side of the peninsula. He simply laughed in response, and went about pulling out ingredients and setting them down on the counter. It was a minute of watching him scurry about his kitchen until she was speaking, again not remembering telling her brain to say anything. "You know, they say that there's nothing sexier than a man who can cook."

He looked over to her from over his stove with a devilish grin, "Doesn't that mean that there's nothing sexier than a woman who can rebuild a car engine?"

She simply shook her head and continued to watch him as he cracked a few eggs into the skillet, keeping his content smirk. She took this time to look around his place for a minute. She slid off the stool, and took a few slow steps into his apartment. It was _really _nice. She stepped into his living room, and saw that he had a dark leather couch against his back wall, with a matching love seat adjacent to it, it's back facing the door, with a long table along the length of it, which held several framed pictures, the first one of his grandparents and himself, the next one seemed to be his graduation picture, the next one she didn't recognize.

She took a step forward to look at the slightly faded picture. It was of a blonde hair man, wearing a tan shirt, his arm in a sling, and a shorter, brunette woman, her facial expression seemed to be taken over with laughter, while the man held his other arm around the woman, smiling widely. "It's my parents..." He called from the kitchen.

She turned around to see him looking down at the skillet in front of him, still cooking. She didn't remember him ever talking about his parents. She did know that they weren't around, but she never knew what happened to them. "Your parents?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that's the only picture I have of them."

Helga hesitated before asking her next question. It might be hard for him, seeing as they still weren't around, and it was probably a delicate subject. "What happened to them?"

His facial expression didn't change from his usual soft smirk, and half lidded gaze. "They were working with a tribe of people in the country of San Lorenzo in South America. From what my grandparents have told me, they were asked to come back for one last mission when I was still a baby, and they never came back."

"I'm sorry..." She said after a minute.

"It's alright." He reflected with a small shrug, "I mean, yeah I wish I knew what happened to them, but I sleep a little more soundly at night knowing they probably died doing what they loved most. I mean, yeah I wish that I got to know them, but not knowing what my parents were like doesn't change who I am."

"That's a very noble way to think of it." She was honestly surprised at his thinking. He didn't let it effect him, he admitted that he wished he knew what his parents were like, but he was strong enough to not let it change who he was. And at this thought, she fell just a little bit more in love with him.

She was lost in a trance, as he put the food onto a plate and turned off the stove. She was snapped out of it when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," He said while he tossed a towel over his shoulder and walked around the counter towards the door. She simply shook her head again, and went back over to where she was sitting before.

While Arnold was recovering from regaling the tale of his parents disappearance, he took a deep breath, and put his hand on the knob and opened the door, his inner turmoil being instantly replaced by anger. "Gerald?"

Helga had just sat back down on the stool, when she heard him answer the door behind her, and hear him mumble something under his breath. A second later, a voice that made her blood boil pierced her ears. "Yo man, you would not _believe _what I heard." She spun around and felt her hands ball up into tight fists. "Helga finally snapped. She..." Gerald stopped after in his tracks just after pushing past Arnold and into his apartment, his eyes now wide at what he was looking at.

"You better cover yourself, fuck-face, should I decide to reenact the last time I saw you." Helga spat as she slid off her stool again and faced Gerald.

"What is _she _doing here?" Gerald hissed, spinning around to face Arnold.

Arnold was on his last threads of patience with Gerald, and he was about to cut the last ones. "Gerald... get out." He nodded toward the still open door he was holding open.

"Man, you're harboring a _murderer!" _

Helga blinked and Arnold's fist was being rocked back before he sent it flying towards Gerald's jaw. She sucked in a sharp breath as Gerald staggered back, now cradling his damaged jaw, her eyes trained on Arnold, who was standing very imposingly, a deep look of seriousness on his face set in stone. "I told you to get out."

Gerald simply shot Arnold a stink eye, then shot one over to Helga, who was standing there locked in place, still trying to believe what he had done. After a moment, Gerald stormed out of Arnold's door, and Arnold closed the door, clicking the dead bolt back in place, and letting out a deep breath and closing his eyes. After another moment, he let go of the knob and started back toward the kitchen. "Sorry you had to see that," He said in a soft voice while he went behind the counter again. "I'm just sick of his stupid mouth."

Helga grinned at the opportunity and spoke, "That's what she said..."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: You guys are going to _really _hate me after this chapter. But, I will try and fix it with the next one. But, feel free to say how pissed off you are at me in reviews! ;)**

**(And just in case you needed me to clarify, FTi and TJM never happened)**

* * *

The turmoil was just too much to bare.

She couldn't ask Arnold to hold her forever. And she needed to learn to stand on her own two feet again. The whole world may be out to get her, but she needed to get her strength back so she could face it. So, in an act of desperation, she decided to go to the one person who helped her get her mind back on track before. She admitted that she was pushing away what had happened, deep in the recesses of her mind, or maybe she was just stuck in the denial stage of grief. Either way, she needed someone to talk to that she wasn't tempted to throw down onto the couch and rip off their stupid dress shirts that hid everything.

Getting up from the seat on the bus, she stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the building and went through the doors, getting onto the elevator and pressing the correct button on the panel. After a minute, the elevator chimed the doors open and she walked up to the reception desk. She missed the old reception from when she was a kid, she was a lot nicer. But this one just seemed to see her as pathetic. And maybe she was, since she was going to see a therapist that was meant for children, but who else could she go to who wouldn't charge her?

"Hi, I was wondering if Dr. Bliss was in? I was hoping I could talk to her." She said with a slight quiver in her voice, stepping up to the desk of the receptionist who had a blank stare aimed at her computer screen.

"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist deadpanned, already seeming fed up with her.

"Um... no, but I'm an old friend, and was hoping that-"

"Helga?" A surprised voice came from her side. Helga looked over toward Dr. Bliss's door to see her having just opened her office door, and was now standing in her doorway with her usual soft smirk. "I wasn't expecting you today."

"I know, it's just..." She trailed off, and took a few steps toward her, speaking in a hushed tone. "I need to talk to someone." She pleaded, the weight of everything she was going through hitting her in that moment.

"Sure, come on in, sweetie." Dr. Bliss stepped aside and held out her arm, inviting her in, and placing her hand on Helga's upper back as she passed her. Helga wasted no time in sitting down in the middle of the couch across from her chair with her head hanging low. "What is it, Helga?"

Dr. Bliss sat down in her chair across from the distraught looking young woman, watching her pick at her thumbnail. "I don't know where to start." She mumbled, "Everything has happened so fast that it's all one big blur."

"Well, a good place to start is the beginning."

It was another moment before Helga decided to speak, deciding to get to the main thing that all this was centered around. "My dad's dead."

Dr. Bliss stomach dropped at the girls confession. It almost brought a tear to her eye, especially hearing her call Bob her dad. Even in e-mails, she would refer to him as 'Bob', never even mentioning that he was her father. "Oh Helga, I'm so sorry." She stood up and quickly made her way over to the couch, and sat down next to the girl, who had tears quickly making their way down her cheek, replacing her hand on the girls upper back.

"He was murdered..." She whispered.

Her ministrations on Helga's upper back ceased, shock making her muscles lock up. She had dealt with her share of kids who had lost their parents to illness, and Helga was on that list when she had contacted her about her mother. But she had never dealt with a child who's parents were _murdered_. In honesty, she had no clue as to what to say, or do. And not knowing any way to help this young woman, whom she considered to be a dear friend of hers, scared her. At a loss for words, Helga continued.

"The police think that _I _did it. They even arrested me, and interrogated me. Phoebe got me out though, and Arnold is working to get me cleared." Helga's voice was hushed, and while this overwhelmed Dr. Bliss, she now understood why she had come to her. But still, she had no idea what to say to help her cope with this. But whether her father was murdered or not, her father had still died. And she had worked with at risk youth before, so maybe she _could _help after all.

"How do you feel about your father being dead? Not about being killed, but just him being dead?"

"Conflicted..."

"How so?"

"Because I can't help but feel that it was for the better." Helga suddenly stood up and paced her way over to the window. "I mean, you know how my father was. He was pig headed, he was a blow hard, he degraded me, he abused my mom, he couldn't remember my name at all, even when he was the one who gave it to me. But despite all of that, he was still my father. I still loved him. But now that he's really gone, I think back on all the times that I wished he was dead, and I hate myself for it. I mean, Bob may not have been a ray of sunshine, but he still didn't deserve to get murdered."

Dr. Bliss was still at a loss for words, her heart going into her throat every time Helga put her father's death into terms of a murder. She may not know how to help, but she would try her best.

"What really gets to me is that the police were so quick to assume that _I _killed him. The afternoon after I found his body, not even twenty four hours after, the police were arresting me. I mean, do people really think I'm _that _heartless?! Do they really think that I'm that cold enough to where I would kill my own father?!"

This, Dr. Bliss could work with. "Helga, remember what I told you? Let people think what they will. _You _know you didn't kill your father, and _you _know that you loved your father, and that should be enough. You don't have anything to prove."

"I have to prove my innocence, don't I?"

Dr. Bliss averted her gaze down to the floor, feeling dejected, obviously having said the wrong thing. "What do the police know?"

Helga let out a sigh, ran a hand through her bangs, and sat down on the ledge in front of the window. "They found an empty syringe in my bedroom that didn't have my fingerprints on it, that had been used to inject cyanide into a bottle of water. They found the bottle of water under his bed, half empty, with a pin mark in the cap. Arnold told me that the killer could have injected the cyanide into the bottle at any time, but according to lividity of his body, he had drank the water around noon the day he died. And since I'm the one who made all of Bob's meals, and since I was out with Arnold at noon the day he died, I'm listed as the prime suspect. But, Phoebe says that all of the evidence is circumstantial, and doesn't mean a thing unless they find my prints on any of it."

Dr. Bliss didn't think for a minute that Helga was guilty. She knew Helga's psyche inside and out, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wasn't a murderer. What really intrigued her was the evidence. It didn't add up. If the syringe was found in her bedroom, but didn't have her prints on it, then it was most likely planted.

"What's strange is the bottle of water they found."

"How's that?"

"When Arnold showed me the crime scene photos, and I saw a picture of the water bottle, it was a brand I never bought. I always bought store brand water for him and myself. But the bottle that they found was Deer Park. It doesn't add up. It's almost as if someone is trying to frame me. But what I can't figure out is why. Who would benefit from getting me thrown in prison for murder?"

Dr. Bliss sighed. All this talking about murder, and crime scenes, especially when it was with someone she was so close to was scaring her a bit. So she decided to change the subject to something that wasn't overlooked. "I couldn't help but noticed that you said you were out with Arnold." That garnered a response from Helga in the form of a wide eyed look, accompanied by a blush. "How's that going?"

Helga let out a groan, and laid down along the ledge, one leg propped up so her knee was sticking up, the other hanging loosely over the edge. "It's complicated. I mean, we went out on this date, after he stood me up the first time because he was called in. So, to get back at him I put on this really skimpy red dress to tease him. But at the end of it all, he ends up practically sweeping me off my feet, and he kissed me."

"Really? That must have been a shock." Dr. Bliss guessed with a coy smile.

"You're telling me. You know that whole 'fireworks' thing? Well, when he kissed me that night, it was like the fourth of July. But I got scared, and slammed the door in his face. And the next morning, we met for coffee and ended up kissing _again, _which was even better than the first one. Then we started casually talking, and then out of nowhere, he grabbed me by the waist, and pulls me in, and plants the most knee wobbling kiss on me I've ever felt like it was nothing! What's worse is that we haven't even labeled each other yet. So I don't know if we're really 'dating', or if we're boy friend and girlfriend, or if we're just friends who just kissed a few times. And with every thing that has been going on, we haven't had the chance to sit down and talk about it, and it's driving me _crazy!" _

"I might have an idea..." Dr. Bliss said, suppressing the mischievous giggle she felt rising.

"Anything to get this headache to go away." She groaned, still lying down and placing her hand against her forehead.

"Why don't you kiss him?"

Helga snapped her head over toward her, her brow in a straight line, obviously very surprised. "What?"

"Well Helga, every kiss you've told me about, it's been him kissing you. So, why don't you kiss him, and see how he reacts?" Helga seemed to throw it off, not buying her idea, and Dr. Bliss continued. "Come on, Helga, what's the worst that could happen?"

"He pushes me away, rejects me, and breaks my heart."

"And the best that could happen?"

"He kisses me back, hoists me up in his muscular arms, tells me he loves me right before he takes me to bed."

Dr. Bliss smiled slyly at the young woman's statement, "Well, it seems like you know what to do then..."

Helga groaned in frustration again and pushed herself up. She then got to her feet and ran her hand through her bangs one more time. "You really think this will work?"

"If not, you can always just use it as an excuse to kiss him again." Helga laughed despite herself, and started towards her. "And Helga," Dr. Bliss stopped her with a hand on the woman's shoulder, "You know where I am, if you need me."

She smiled widely and nodded, "Thanks, Doc."

Helga then made her way out of her office, feeling a little better about the world. She got back down to the bus stop just in time for it to be pulling up. She ran to make it and sat down in one of the seats in the back.

It was a while before she got back to Arnold's apartment. And it was very late in the evening by the time she did. She took a few deep breaths before she raised her hand to knock on his door. It was a minute before he flung the door open, "Hey," he greeted quickly before he turned back around, leaving his door open as he rushed back into his living room. She stepped in and closed the door behind her as she watched him go back around his couch, and sit down in from of his coffee table, where he had the case file open in front of him. "I have great news. The lab tested the water that was left in the bottle, and they were able to determine that the cyanide was injected into the bottle the night before your dad was killed."

"So?"

"Helga, don't you see?" Arnold asked with a bright smile, standing back up. "You were with _me _that night at Chez Paris. That gives you a solid alibi, and proves your innocence! You're clear!"

While this was wondrous news, she had other thoughts in her head. She simply smiled a small smile, and let her head fall forward.

"Helga, don't you get it? You're not a suspect anymore."

"Arnold..." She whispered. She looked up and looked at him, he was wearing the same pale blue dress shirt, but it was now left open. He had a look of relief, mixed with excitement in his smile, with his soft emerald eyes gazing back at her. And as she met them, his smile started to face into a blank expression. For the first time, she decided to just go for what she wanted, and not worry about the consequences. And right now, she wanted _him. _

She quickly stepped forward, putting her hands out and latching them onto his jaw, and pushing herself up, while pulling him down to her lips. She heard him suck in a sharp breath in through his nose, as his lips sat pressed against hers, and she could already feel her insides light up from the electricity sparking off of him. She moved her hands from his jaw to snake one arm around his shoulders, while the other weaved itself into his hair.

It was a moment before she felt him start to kiss her back, and another moment later that she felt his hands press against her back. And for a moment, she thought that it had actually worked, that he wanted to be with her. That he actually would scoop her up in his arms and take her to bed. And when he deepened the kiss just a bit more, she thought that she was moments away from her dream becoming a reality.

It was in the blink of an eye that she found herself being pushed off of him, and her lips now feeling dead from the sudden loss of contact. "I can't..." His voice was hoarse, and as the words registered in her fuzzed mind that had already jumped ahead a few minutes into their sensual future, the fantasy was crushed.

She opened her eyes and saw him standing with a furrow in his brow, his eyes closed. "What do you mean?" There were tears already burning her eyes, and they stung a little bit more as she thought of how much she had cried in the last twenty four hours.

"Helga, I've made this mistake before." Her heart was already starting to shatter, at the mention of her being a mistake. "I've jumped into things, thinking that I was ready. I thought that I was ready with you, but..." He let his head fall forward, and the hands that were still pressed against her sides now felt like they were burning her.

"But?" She wanted nothing more than to take her hands off him, and run for the door, but she just couldn't take her hands off him, with one resting in the middle of his chest, while the other was pressed against the side of his neck.

"I fell in love with this feeling before, Helga. And I mistook it for being in love. I just... I want to make sure that it's _you, _not just this feeling. I need to make sure that it's you making me feel this way, and not just the way I feel when I'm around you, or how I feel when I hold you, or when I kiss you." Finally, he let his hands fall to his sides, and she finally let hers do the same. "I need to make sure that it's you." He opened his eyes, but she could hardly see him over the blur in her eyes from her tears that were rimming them. "I'm sorry."

Letting out a shaky breath, she turned toward his door, and started making her way towards it, feeling her heart being crushed and shattered, all the while still feeling the passion on her lips from when he gave into her for that split second. She grabbed into the cold metal of the knob, and pulled the door open, noticing how heavy it felt now. She didn't want to look back, but she turned around anyway, for one last look at him. She tried to blink away her tears, but they only brought up more as she saw his expression, it almost looked like pity.

She closed his door behind her, and stopped fighting the already losing battle with her tears, letting them flow freely. And with each one that fell to the floor, it brought her with them just a little more, until she was sliding to the floor against the wall next to the door she wanted to run through again, dreaming on false hope alone that he would take her back.

She was doing so well coping with everything, but now... she wanted nothing more than to give into it all.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: As some of you have stated, I do not have all the chapters written. I am in fact writing as I post the chapters. With that in mind, I reveal who the killer is in this chapter. let me know what you think, and see if you were right!**

* * *

His feet slammed heavily against the pavement as Vivian's tag's jingled from her collar next to him. Running usually made him feel better, but lately, it wasn't working, and he was going on his fifth mile.

It had been two weeks since he watched Helga walk out his door, it had been the most painful two weeks he could ever remember having. Even after his divorce, he wasn't this miserable. He had told her that he needed time to find out what it was he felt for her, whether he was falling for her, or the feeling of falling for her. And with Helga, he would never forgive himself if what happened to him and Rachel, happened to him and Helga.

Deciding to give Vivian a rest, he slowed to a stop and sat down on a bench he had stopped in front of, while Vivian fell down to the ground, panting heavily next to his feet. He had gotten into the habit of running in the park lately, mainly for Vivian's sake, because it was more open than the streets of Hillwood where. He reached down and scratched her chest, and she looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

He had gotten Vivian from the pound a few days after the last time he saw Helga after the loneliness was getting to him. And in the short time that they've known each other, he already loved his devoted black lab. She was very quiet, in fact, in the two weeks he had her, he had never heard her bark, not once. After she got her breath back, she got up and sat down in front of him, and he reached up and rubbed the dog's head. She was no substitute for Helga, but just as Helga had Jeffery, now he had Vivian.

He stood up, his muscles still burning a bit, and started to walk back to his apartment, with Vivian right by his side. It was nice having a dog that was fully leash trained. It was around noon on a Wednesday, and Hillwood's sky was clear, and a pleasant seventy-two degrees. It despite everything he was going through, it was a nice day to be on vacation. With four years of only having taken one day off, he had enough vacation time saved up to take three weeks off, which probably wasn't the best idea.

But he decided it was for the best after finding the bottle of wine that was left over from their date at Chez Paris hidden under his back seat, even worse, it was more than three quarters full. But it didn't last very long. He still hadn't made any progress in working out his conflicted feelings, and seeing her tear filled eyes and her sadness every time he closed his eyes only made it worse.

But, no matter what he ended up saying, he knew he was right to push her away. He had made this mistake before. Had he given in to that feeling, not knowing whether or not it was real, all of those intense kisses that they shared, all those butterflies he felt in his stomach every time he saw her, every breath that was stolen from him when a single part of them touched, it would have meant nothing. Yes, Helga is an amazing woman; she is smart, she is strong, she is deep, she is passionate, she is witty, she gets him, she is warm, she can make him laugh without even trying, she is fun to be around. He could talk forever and still not fully describe her.

But that's what he used to feel for Rachel, and that was nothing more than a shade being pulled over his eyes by his heart. His heart was easily fooled, and if his heart was fooling him again, the vicious cycle of trying to find himself would start all over again. He was sure that he felt something for Helga, and what scared him was he was so quick to call it love. He was so quick to say that the feeling he got from being with her was so unbelievable, that the only thing he could call it was love. But what if it wasn't?

What if he was just in love with being in love again? What if, after his divorce, he had spent so long believing that he could never feel what he felt for Rachel with anyone else, that when Helga came along, and gave him that feeling all over again, it was just him trying to cling to old memories? What if that's what he was in love with, old memories that he couldn't let go? What if he was simply yearning for that feeling to come back, so when it finally did, he latched on as quickly as he could, and ran with it?

But, as hard as he tried, he couldn't shake this feeling. After Rachel, the feelings he had for her were quick to fade, and were quickly replaced with resentment and bitterness. But with Helga, the feelings he had for her lingered, but were joined by despair and heartache. He still felt something for Helga, even after these two lonely weeks, she was still haunting him.

The question still remained, was he in love with Helga? First, there was the trouble he went through when he tried to define being in love. And in order to do that, he decided to look back on the times he thought he was in love with Helga. His first hint was the night of their first date, after they had kissed. He had never felt such passion from a kiss before, such fire, no one had ever kissed him where it left him physically aching when their lips left his. And the feeling that he _couldn't _let that kiss end, he thought it was love.

But maybe Helga was just a good kisser, and he was digging into it too deeply. But the second hint was after he had kissed her unexpectedly, while they were talking. The light in her eyes, the feeling that he couldn't look away, the magnetic pull she emitted just by looking into his eyes, the shining in her eyes that drew him to her, that soft gaze that broke him away from reality, that made him forget about his responsibility and just focus on _her. _Maybe that was love.

His last hint was when she came to his apartment after Phoebe got her out of being interrogated by homicide. How crazy he was driving himself not knowing how she was, not knowing the state of her well-being, the clench around his heart that he felt with every minute that passed that he didn't hear from her, the flashes in his mind of the worse case scenarios that made his heart feel as if it had stopped beating. And when he finally saw her again, that unbearable _need _to wrap his arms around her, just to make sure that she was really there, that she was safe, and that she still had the ability to wrap her own arms around him and reassure him of all of it. Maybe that was love.

But being _in _love, that was another matter entirely. Maybe being _in _love meant that all of these feelings could only be brought up by her, and her alone. Maybe it meant that no one else in the world would make him feel these things. Maybe it meant that she was the proverbial '_one'_.

Maybe Helga Pataki was the one...

* * *

Helga groaned as she pushed herself up off Phoebe's couch.

It's not that she couldn't go home, it's that she didn't want to go home. After she was cleared from the suspect list, and her house was no longer an active crime scene, she still couldn't go back. She even asked Phoebe to go and pack her clothes, along with some of Jeffery's things for her. She hated herself for throwing herself at Phoebe like she was, but then again, she hated herself for everything lately.

It had been two weeks since her lips left Arnold's, and they still ached. Phoebe had been very understanding with her situation, and didn't hesitate to give her a place to stay. She was even more grateful when she had sat down with her, and explained what had happened between her and Arnold. That she basically threw herself at him in a way that said that she wanted to be with him, and he told her that he needed time to think things over.

Phoebe didn't agree with her, and simply tell her that everything was going to be alright, she said that Arnold was right in his actions. She pointed out that he was doing the exact same thing that everyone was telling him to do when he had proposed to Rachel. He was stepping back and making sure his feelings were real, and Helga understood. But it still hurt... everywhere.

What did he need to do to make sure? Go out and find someone else for a little while? The thought alone of him having to kiss someone else just to see if he was really in love with her constricted her heart. She didn't want to think of anyone else getting to kiss him other than her. She wanted to be the only one he ever kissed, she wanted to be the only one he ever held just for the sake of holding someone, she wanted to be the only one that got her breath stolen from her by him. Put plainly, she wanted to be his one and only.

And now that time was waring on, she was beginning to think that it would never happen, that the last time she would see him would be through tear filled eyes and a broken heart. But what hurt the most was the willingness to accept it.

The door opened and in walked Phoebe, setting her brief case down next to the door, just before she closed it and clicked the dead bolt back into place. "Anything yet?" Helga asked.

She heard Phoebe let out a small sigh, and make her way towards the couch, shaking her head. "Sorry Helga, the trail has gone cold. The police managed to track the bottle of water back to a convenient store just outside of town, but the cashier of shift that night said that he was tired, and didn't remember what the guy looked like. They tried the security tapes, but the cameras were so low quality, they couldn't pull any usable images. The best they can say is that it's a Caucasian male, anywhere from age twenty to sixty five." Phoebe said just before she plopped down on the couch next to her. "I'm sorry, Helga."

She chuckled bitterly and fell back against the couch, "You know, you watch all these crime dramas on TV, and you wonder why the actual percentage of unsolved murders is so high. You never think of how things are in the real world. You never think that the bad guys can get away."

"They're not giving up, Helga. We're going to find whoever killed you father." Phoebe truly was a gem. It had been two weeks since she alibi'd out, and the trail had been cold for just as long. And now that the finger wasn't being pointed at her, and had no where else to point, she was feeling more hopeless than ever. With the idea of her fathers killer getting to walk around a free man, while she was sitting on her best friends couch with nothing more than a cat and a broken heart, it made her sick to her stomach.

"Yeah... that's what they say about every cold case that they have sitting in a box in a storage room somewhere underground. You know, I can almost handle the idea of someone framing me for my dad's murder, but I just want to know _why. _Why would someone want to frame _me? _I know that I don't exactly have many friends, but I don't have any enemies willing to go to these lengths, do I?" Helga shot another pathetic look over to Phoebe, and she always felt guilty when she would throw all of her personal problems at her.

But Phoebe was always quick to at least try and bring her back up. "No Helga, some people are just stupid."

"Speaking of stupid, have you heard from him lately?"

Phoebe chuckled, and shook her head while she stood up off the couch, and went into her kitchen. "No, and before you ask, he isn't seeing anyone either. Last I heard, he was doing the same thing you are, sitting on a couch stewing in his despair."

"I suppose in some parallel universe, that should make me feel better." In a way, it did. The thought that if she couldn't have him, than no one could was something she tried to avoid. But the news that he was no better than she was did make her feel a little better. But, as she pictured it, his usual soft smirk replaced by a sullen frown, his usual soft and caring emerald eyes replaced by two lifeless eyes, unwilling to see anything other than his own mistakes, that also broke her heart.

He wasn't suppose to be sad. He was suppose to be bright, he was suppose to be happy, he was suppose to smile, his presence was suppose to bring life to a lifeless room. He was suppose to be the one bringing a heart beat back to her, he was suppose to be here for her to lay her tired head upon his chest, he was suppose to be here to wipe her tears when she couldn't seem to stop them on her own. He was suppose to be with her.

And she knew that if she had a spine, and truly wanted to be with him badly enough, that she wouldn't be sitting on Phoebes couch, hoping that something would change. She would be running towards him, and telling him that no matter what he was feeling, she _knew _that she was in love with him. She knew that what she felt was love, she knew that every beat her heart skipped when their eyes met meant that she loved him, she knew that the euphoric shiver of her spine that she felt every time their lips met meant that she loved him. She knew she loved him because as broken as it might be, her heart wants what it wants, and even after everything its been put through on his account, it still wanted him.

As she lost herself in the same thoughts that had plagued her for two weeks, while she let her eyes stare off into space, she was brought out of it by Phoebe calling to her from her kitchen. "Helga, your cell phone is ringing."

Helga pushed up with her tired muscles and dragged her socked feet through the apartment, and into the kitchen where Phoebe was handing her her ringing cell phone. A sliver of her was hoping that it was Arnold, and was telling her to be a little bit more excited, but that sliver was gone when she looked at the caller ID and saw it was a local number she didn't recognize. "Hello?" She deadpanned in a tired voice.

"Can I speak to Helga Pataki?" A older sounding male voice asked.

"Speaking..."

"My name is Martin Kiuzak, and I was your father's attorney. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to come in to my office for the reading of his will this afternoon."

"Uh... sure, no problem."

"Great, my office is located in Hillwood Business park, suite 307, three o'clock?"

"I'll be there."

"I look forward to speaking with you, Ms. Pataki."

Helga heard the line cut off and she haphazardly let her phone fall back down onto the counter. She wasn't shocked to hear that her dad had a will, he probably knew that his days were numbered when he had his first heart attack. But what this meant was that she would have to deal with her older sister. And Olga she could handle, it was her sugar daddy she couldn't stand.

Personally, she had never met him, and given the choice, she would rather keep it that way. But maybe she would get lucky, and Olga wouldn't show up. Helga shook away the thought, knowing that Bob probably left everything to his precious Olga anyway, not that he had much to leave her. As far as she knew, Bob was broke. It was no secret that he had sold his Beeper company for it's distribution and its marketing, but since Big Bob's Beepers was a private company, what he got for it was not a matter of public record. And since her mom didn't ask for anything when they divorced, probably knowing that she wouldn't get anything anyway, Helga didn't bother to find out.

"Who was that?" Phoebe asked, getting out the vegetables from the fridge for the stir-fry that she said she was going to make.

"Oh, that was just my dad's lawyer. They're reading his will this afternoon at three, and he wants me to come in."

"Your father had a will?"

"I'm not sure. He wasn't exactly a big talker when I was taking care of him. The most he ever said to me was 'Hey, bring me my food'."

"What do you think he left you?"

"I don't know, he didn't have much to leave, besides the house, which he probably left to Olga anyway. I just hope that she doesn't show up. I've been through enough as it is."

"Do you want me to go with you? After all, I am your legal representative." Phoebe reminded her with a friendly smirk.

Helga chuckled dryly, but shook her head. "No, that's alright. I'll be fine. I better get changed, and get going though. I'm suppose to be down there by three."

An hour later, after taking a shower, and getting changed into a pair of jeans and her black fleece, with her hair back in a pony tail as usual, she grabbed her keys and headed out. After stopping for a cup of coffee to try and wake up her tired body, she made it to Hillwood Business park, and parked in the parking garage across the street. She sat in her car, with twenty minutes left until she had to go inside, and drank her coffee, still worried that her sister would show up.

After steeling herself, she downed the rest of her coffee, and got out of her car, and made her way across the street, and up to the third floor. Once she found suit 307, she thought that her fears had been in vain, as no one seemed even resembling her sister was around. She breathed a sigh of relief, and pushed open the large door of the lawyers office. But just as she had gotten rid of them, her fear caught her breath in her throat.

She was standing there like she had done nothing wrong. She had turned around at the sound of the door opening, and she was now smiling at her with a pitiful smile. "Hey Helga." Her airy voice was like two pieces of steel scraping against each other. Helga felt her fists tighten by her sides when she met her eyes.

"Olga..." She muttered in a cold tone.

"Hi there, Helga." A deep voice said to her from the other side of the room.

Her nerves shivered at the second voice. She looked over and felt a very strong urge to walk back out the door. "Jeremy..." She said in the same cold tone at the man standing there, approaching Olga with a small cup in his hands.

Jeremy was Olga's sugar daddy, the one who had taken one look at her and decided that she was his. And being the spineless worm that she is, Olga fell for his suave hair do and his credit card. She didn't know that he knew about her, but since he already knew her name, he already knew too much for comfort. "If you'll all take a seat, we can get down to business." The lawyer said, motioning to the three chairs he had sitting in front of his desk, one off the to side a little farther than the others.

Helga sat down in the furthest one, while Olga sat in the middle, with her sugar daddy on the other side of her. "Now, as all of you obviously know, your father had a living will in place, in the event of his death." He looked down at the papers in front of him, and picked it up to read it. "He actually called me a few weeks before his death to uh... rearrange a few things." He cleared his throat and began to read. "I, Robert Pataki, in the event of my death, leave all my assets, totaling five hundred thousand dollars, and my home, to..." The lawyer flipped over the page and Helga looked over to see Jeremy wearing a confident grin, "my youngest daughter, Helga."

"What?" She asked in astonishment.

"_What?!" _Jeremy shot out of his seat with enough force to knock it back onto the floor. "That can't be right. I-it's suppose to be Olga. Y-you made a mistake. It's Olga." He seemed to be in a state of angry denial. And now, Helga was more shocked at his reaction that she was of Bob's will. Jeremy was becoming very jittery, his hands starting to shake, with a crazed expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, sir, bit it's all right here. He left everything to her." The lawyer said, nodding his head over to the confused girl.

"No!" Jeremy reached into the small of his back, and pulled out a large hand gun, pointing it straight at the lawyer, while Helga's system seized up, hearing Olga let out a yelp of terror. "Change it!" He shouted, shoving his gun into the man's face.

"Jeremy! What are you doing!?" Olga shouted, shooting out of her seat, and grabbing onto his arm. Jeremy simply shoved her away, and then raised the hand that was holding the gun, sending it across her cheek, hearing her let out an ear piercing shriek. Helga watched in fright as he pointed the gun back at the lawyer.

"You're not going anywhere until you change it!"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I feel really bad, honestly I do. And I am also sorry for the length of this chapter. Since it was a fast moving situation, I felt that if I had expanded on any of it, it wouldn't have seemed real. But, let me know what you think!**

* * *

He already had the gas pedal to the floor, but his car wasn't going any faster.

As he was weaving through the lanes of light traffic, getting more than a few honks, with his siren wailing, he was still a few blocks away. He had gotten the call from Dave, saying that he had gotten called into a situation involving a gunman holding two woman and a lawyer hostage in his office, and Arnold had jumped into his car when he heard the last name of the two woman. Out of all the scenes he's gone to, all of the people that were held hostage by just a few, this one would be the hardest.

As the red and blue lights came into view, along with the barricade, he slammed on the breaks, and skidded to a stop, jumping out of the car before it had come to a full stop, then bursting into a full sprint through the barricade. As one of the officers tried to stop him, Arnold dug out his badge and quickly flashed it to him. He knew he would probably get yelled at for coming to a scene out of dress code, he would probably get yelled at for coming in the first place, but they were always saying that he was the best, he had to do this.

He ran past a few more patrol cars, and swung the door to the van open, quickly jumping up the stairs. "What do we know?" He quickly asked, not bothering to explain what he was doing here or _why _he was here in the first place.

"Shortman? What are you doing here, you're suppose to be on vacation." His commander said from the other side of the van.

"The woman that's up there is a friend of mine, I need in on this."

"Shortman, you know that it's a conflict of interest."

"Sir," Dave was saying from his chair in front of one of the monitors, " It's Shortman... he's the best."

His commander's eyes went from Dave back to Arnold, who was giving him an expectant look. He was tempted to give up with arguing, and just run up into that building by himself. There was a moment of intense silence, just before his commander nodded. Dave stood up, pulled off his head set and handed it to Arnold, and placed a hand on his shoulder while he moved around him and out of the van. "What do we know?" He asked again, bracing himself for the worst.

"One gunman, three hostages being held in an office on the third floor."

"We have eyes?"

"Yeah, fiber optics from the next office over. One of the women is knocked out, while the other is still sitting down, and the lawyer is still behind his desk. We've got snipers set up across the street in the parking garage, but I don't want to run the risk of him getting a shot off before we have a chance to talk to him."

"We have a positive ID on the gunman?"

"Yeah, Jeremy Westlake. He's your typical trust fund kid, he inherited his father's stock holding business, and some how ran it into the ground in a few short months. According to his financial records, he's broke."

"How is that connected to this?"

"Not sure, all we know for sure is you have to talk him down. Swat's stuck in a traffic jam, and won't be here for another half an hour, and I'm not sending any of these uni's up there."

"What about gas?"

"We just so happen to be here on the day that the maintenance crew had the ventilation system shut down for routine cleaning and repairs, so we wouldn't be able to isolate it."

"Alright, get me a line."

* * *

As she stared at the unconscious body of her sister lying on the ground, Jeremy's gun was still trained on the lawyer. The shock of the situation was still numbing her mind, inhibiting her from understanding what was happening. "Change it, now!"

"I'm sorry, but the money has already been put into a secure bank account. No one but her has access to it." Martin's hands were up in surrender, and he seemed seconds away from begging for his life.

"You..." Jeremy pointed the gun over to her, and she locked up. "It's all _your _fault!"

"What did I do?" She asked, the barrel of his gun coming within inches of her forehead.

"You are suppose to be in jail!" As she came to the sudden realization that the man she was being threatened by was the same man that killed her father, she wasn't scared, she was angry.

"You killed my dad." She whispered.

Jeremy took a few steps back, and grinned bitterly, his gun still pointed at her head. "That's right. And it was all for _nothing!" _

"You framed me for my own father's murder..."

"You make it sound like I should regret it. I should have known it was too easy. Slipping cyanide into a bottle of water and leaving it by his bedside that night, stealing your sister's key to get in, leaving the syringe in your room so the police would think you did it, I knew it was too easy."

Helga tightened her grip, on the arms of the chair at the ease of which he regaled the tale of his killing, almost as if he was proud of himself for all the pain, anguish, and suffering he had caused her. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?!" He spat, "He was suppose to leave everything to _her!" _He pointed to the ground at the limp body of her older sister, "After I had the bank look into how much your dear old dad was worth, I came up with a plan. I kill your father, pin it on you, she inherits a fortune, then I kill her, take the money, and since you were rotting in jail, you couldn't come after the money after she was dead. But you _ruined it!" _

The phone on the lawyers desk rang suddenly, making Jeremy jump, and swing his gun toward the phone. After a moment, he motioned toward Martin, "Put it on speaker." Martin reached down and pressed a button on the phone, and Jeremy spoke. "Who is this?"

"Hey there, Jeremy." Helga's heart stopped at the soft, angelic voice she had just heard. He was here, he was really here. After all this time, he came for her, he came to save her, and it left a tear of joy on her cheek at the feeling of her heart being brought back to life with just the sound of his voice. "I'm Arnold Shortman from the hostage negotiating squad. I was hoping we could talk."

Jeremy pointed his gun back up to the lawyer, "Not until I have my money!"

"Listen, Jeremy, I know that this is a stressful situation, with your father's business going into bankruptcy... but we can work something out that doesn't involve bloodshed."

"You want these people to walk out of here alive? I was two million wired to my bank account, if I don't get a call in one hour saying that it's there. I'll kill the lawyer, and after that, I'll kill the bitch." Jeremy sneered as he pointed his gun back over to Helga.

* * *

Arnold's breath caught in his throat as he watched the monitor, seeing the gunman point his barrel over toward Helga. Arnold shot a quick glance over to his commander, who gave him a sharp nod, "Alright, Jeremy, you've got it. I'll make a few calls and see what I can do. But in the mean time, why don't we-" He was cut off when the line went dead.

Arnold let out a breath and pulled off his head set, letting his head fall forward and bracing his hands against the counter of the van. "Get me on the phone with a representative from his bank."

"You're really going to give him a ransom?"

"No, I'm just going to make it seem like we did. Have a representative from the bank call him, and say that the money is in there, he releases the hostages, get them to safety, then we take him down."

"You do realize how risky this is, don't you?"

"It's less risky than using snipers, that's for damn sure."

Arnold let out another groan in frustration, and turned around, stepping out of the van and running his hands through his hair. He had never been this stressed while on duty before. And in the grand scale of things, it wasn't that big of a situation, but to him, it meant the world. He had just finished getting dressed when he got the call. He was going to go find her, and tell her that it was her. He was going to tell her that he wanted to be with her, more than anything. But now, if he said the wrong thing, he would never get the chance to.

If he said the wrong thing now, the life that mattered most to him would be gone. The last memory he would have of her would be her stepping out of his doorway, watching tear after tear fall down her skin as she went out of view. He would never get to hold her again, never get to kiss her again, would never get to smell the sweet smell of her hair again, would never get to lose himself in her presence again, and it was all weighing on him. "Arnold!" A shrieking voice was calling him from behind the barricade.

He looked up and saw Phoebe waving at him, being held back by one of the uniforms. The officer looked back at him, and he waved her in. The officer stepped aside and Phoebe wasted no time in charging toward him. "Phoebe, what are you doing here?"

She obviously heard what was going on. "Where's Helga? Is she alright?"

"She's alive, that's all I know." Arnold calmly said, bracing his hands onto her shoulders.

"She's up there, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. Phoebe, do you know what she was here for?"

"S-she got a call around noon, saying that her father's will was being read this afternoon. Arnold, you have to save her! You can't let her die!" Determination washed through him at the sight of a tear leak out of Phoebe's eye. He couldn't afford to be scared, Helga was counting on him to do his job the best he could. He couldn't afford to let her down, she had too much to live for.

"Phoebe, I promise you... I will save her." He said, looking directly into Phoebe's panicking eyes.

He started back to the van, his doubts about himself now gone, "Do you love her?" She called out to him.

He didn't stop jogging back to towards the van, simply turned around and jogged backwards, calling out to her with his answer, "Yes."

Rushing back into the van, he quickly pushed aside the part of him that was just as frantic as Phoebe, along with the part of him that was asking what he would do without her, and slipped his headset back on. "Anything yet?"

"Bad news, the snipers got into position, but the window is only a foot in a half in width, and they can't get a clear shot from where they are, and swat is still stuck in traffic."

"What about the bank representative?"

"On stand by, awaiting our orders. I'm giving him a while to make it believable."

"Get the line open, I want to talk to this guy."

The technician handed him his headset back, and he heard the dial tone ring in his ear. He looked back down to the screen, and saw Jeremy motion toward the phone again, then saw the lawyer press a button on the phone, and the line was open. "You have my money yet?" Jeremy asked, sounding a lot more impatient that before.

"I have a representative on the line now, Jeremy. But before we bring him in, why don't we just talk for a minute."

"I'm not talking unless it's about my money."

"I just want to know why you're doing this, Jeremy. This seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through just for a few million dollars, don't you think?"

"I've done a lot more for a lot less."

"Yeah, you killed my father for some chump change!" Her voice sounded like music to his ears, relaxing his tense muscles for a second, and filling him with hope.

"Shut up!" Jeremy yelled, as he pointed his gun back to her.

* * *

"Helga, are you okay?" He asked, in his caring voice, as if he was right there next to her, and it made her smile brightly, despite the situation.

"Besides finding out that this jack ass was the one who tried to frame me, just peachy."

"You know her?" Jeremy asked, his gun still trained on her.

"Yes, Jeremy, I do." There was a pause on the other end of the line, while Jeremy looked back over to her with a confused, but still angry look, "She's the woman I love."

Her heart stopped at what she had just heard. _He loves me? _As she felt a tear leak out onto her cheek, she felt another smile burst onto her face, wanting nothing more than to run into his arms, and have him spin her in the air, and tell him that she loved him over and over again, until she was sure that he heard her. In that moment, she wasn't in a lawyers office having a gun pointed in her face. She was running towards him, and slamming herself into his open arms, kissing him deeply, without any reserve. In that moment, she was having her shirt passionately ripped off over her head, and being laid gently down onto his bed, with him pressing his body against hers and kissing her softly.

But at the sound of bitter laughter, her flash of a daydream of her hopeful future was crush. "Isn't that sweet?"

"We have a representative from your bank on the line with us now, Jeremy." There was a click on the other end of the line, "Go ahead."

"Mr. Westlake? I'm from the First National Bank of Hillwood, we have confirmed the payment in the amount of two million dollars that has been logged into your account, sir."

"What's the transaction number?" There was another pause on the other end of the line, and dread started to crawl at the back of her throat when there wasn't an answer. "What's the transaction number!?"

"Now, Jeremy, just-"

* * *

"Do you think I'm stupid?!" Jeremy spat on the other end of the line.

"Sniper team, do you have a shot?" His commander asked into his own headset.

"No, Jeremy, I don't, but just calm down and-"

"You just cost me two million dollars!"

"_Yes sir, but it's pretty narrow." A distorted voice was saying over the speaker.  
_

"Jeremy, I'm sorry, but maybe we can-"

"You ruined everything!" Arnold watched in anxious horror as Jeremy pointed the gun back over to Helga.

"Take it." His commander ordered.

"_NO!"_

Arnold was already sprinting out of the van when he heard a pair of shots ring out.

* * *

**A/N: I know, most of you are getting sick of cliff hangers, but the next chapter will be better, I promise :) **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: You guys didn't think I'd make you wait that long did you? xD**

* * *

He could feel his hands shaking as he shoved the front door open, then bursting into his full sprints again, heading for the stair well, shoving open another door, and taking the stairs three or four at a time. After three long flights of stairs, he pushed open the door, not hearing the push bar hit against the door over the pounding in his ears.

Running purely on adrenaline, he made his strides as fast and as long as he could, almost telling himself he could make it before the bullet made it out of his barrel. Once he saw the gold lettering on the large wooden door, reading '307', he jumped at the door, and pushed it open. Stopping just inside, his whole body was still telling him to move. Frantically taking in the scene before him, he quickly looked at the two blonde women on the floor, and quickly leaped forward, falling to his knees beside the one face down in a black fleece with a long blonde ponytail.

He quickly pulled her into his lap, and turned her over, her eyes closed. Cradling her in his lap, he ran his fingers across her forehead, brushing back her bangs, and then cupping her cheek, his heart slamming in his throat. "Helga..." He beckoned in a voice already soiled with emotion. "Helga, wake up." He pushed against her cheek, moving her limp head to try and wake her, but her head simply nodded weakly with his hand. "Helga, you have to come back to me."

He closed his eyes, and tried to wrangle in his composure enough to fully assess the situation. _You have to focus, Shortman. Focus and do your job! _

He popped his eyes open, and forced himself not to look into her what he was convinced sleeping face. He looked over her torso, and saw a blot of crimson, reflecting off the black material of her fleece, just below her left shoulder. _Alright, you know she's been shot, and she's losing blood. Next is to... is to... check the pusle. _He quickly lifted two fingers and pressed them to her pulse point. And after a moment, when he didn't feel anything, he felt his whole world start to crumble.

_No, no, no, this can't be happening... _His brain was silenced when he felt a soft thud press against his fingers. His lungs forced out every ounce of breath they had in a long sigh of relief, which ended with a bright smile. _Okay, she's alive, but she's still bleeding. You have to stop the bleeding. _Gently setting her back on the floor, he quickly whipped off his red t-shirt, lifted her upper half off the floor, and slid his t-shirt underneath her. He gently laid her back down, grabbed the ends of his t-shirt, and pulled them across her torso, tying it in a tight note.

He gingerly lifted her back up into his arms, and pressed his hand against her shoulder. It was a long moment before he decided to look up, where he saw Jeremy lying on the ground, a large bullet wound directly in the center of his chest, with a large blood spatter on the wall in front of him. "You're going to be just fine, Helga." He pathetically soothed, rocking her back and forth.

A barrage of loud footsteps coming from the hallway outside brought him back to what needed to be done. "_Get me a medic in here now!" _He yelled at the uniformed officers who were running into the office, guns out of their holsters. As he heard one of the officers call on his radio for immediate medical attention, the other officers had their guns trained on the body of Jeremy Westlake, while the one in front stalked toward him, kicking away the gun that was sitting beside his hand. Once all their guns were holstered, one of them knelt down in front of him.

"How is she?"

"Bullet wound to the shoulder, no exit wound, she's lost a lot of blood." He cleared his throat to try and rid his voice of heart ache, but when it still felt thick, he simply decided to keep his mouth shut, and continued to rock Helga back and forth in his arms.

"Sir, Westlake is dead. Repeat, Westlake is confirmed dead. We have a young woman whose been shot in the shoulder, and another who seems to be unconscious." The officer said into his radio.

_"What about the lawyer?" _His commander's voice said.

"Mr. Kiuzak?" The officer called out into the office.

"H-here, I'm okay." A small voice was coming from the other side of the desk. Arnold looked over and saw a hand being raised in the air from behind the desk. The lawyer stood up, his hands still in the air, looking very scared.

"It's okay, sir, you can put your hands down. Everything's fine." The officer said, waving him forward. Martin walked around his desk, his eyes now on the limp body of Helga as the officer ushered him out the door. Once he was out the door and around the corner, two EMT's were running through the door, with a stretcher being pulled behind them.

"What's the situation?" The first one asked, quickly falling to his knees opposite of Arnold.

"Bullet wound to the shoulder with no exit wound. Pulse is weak, but it's there."

The paramedic gently reached up and pulled his make shift bandage aside, to assess the damage. "Alright, it doesn't look like he hit an artery. She's going to be fine, just help me get her onto the gurney." As the paramedic quickly got to his feet, and went out the door to bring the gurney into the office, putting it parallel to her, he reached down and put his arm under her legs, and carefully lifted her onto it. The paramedics quickly lifted the gurney up, and ran out the door, already in the process of strapping her in.

Once she was out of sight, he got to his feet, and let out a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. He let it fall down by his side, before he let his eyes fall to the floor, where he saw Olga still lying on the ground on her side. Much less eager to help her, he took a step forward, and knelt down, pulling her back so she was lying on her back.

As he lifted his hand, to turn Olga's head to assess the damage Jeremy had done, he stopped when he saw that his hands were stained with Helga's blood. At this, his hands started to shake violently. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath to try and steady himself. He put his hand against his leg and started to rub his hand vigorously against his pants. Once he felt that his hands were much less terrifying to look at, he opened his eyes and reached up to tilt Olga's head off to the side.

It wasn't anything to compare to Helga, with just a small scratch going across her cheekbone. He felt the top of her head, feeling a small bump, and concluded that she should wake up on her own, which open closer inspection, seemed to be right now. As her eyes started to squeeze a little tighter, with her head starting to nod left and right, he didn't know what to tell her. Her eyes finally fluttered open, and they immediately fell upon him. "Who are you?" She whispered.

"I'm Arnold Shortman, with the hostage negotiating squad. How are you feeling?"

He saw a smile pull the corners of her lips up, as she shut her eyes again and let her head fall back to the floor, "A lot better now that you're here handsome." He raised a confused eye brow at what she had just said, and then realized that the paramedics had left with his shirt still tied around Helga's chest. Not in the mood to feel embarrassed, he simply groaned, and pushed himself up onto his feet again once he saw that she was once again unconscious.

A few more uniformed officers came into the office, and Arnold started out the door, no longer feeling a need to stay. He made his way back down the stairs, much slower than when he had last taken them, and dragged his feet outside, and into the slew of people rushing around him. "Shortman!" His commander's voice was yelling.

He looked up and saw his commander start toward him. "Yes, sir?" He asked unenthusiastically.

"What in the hell possessed you to run in there with out a vest?!" His commander spat, coming to a stop just a few feet away.

Not in the mood to come up with a lame excuse, he decided to just tell him. "Love..." He stepped around him and slowly started back towards the van.

"Shortman!" His commander yelled again. Arnold stopped, groaned inwardly, and turned around, catching the blue wind breaker he was being thrown. He watched as his commander kept his discontented look, and marched through the doors of the office building. He decided to pay it no mind and deal with it when he went back to work, and slipped on the windbreaker, zipping it up all the way.

With a few more steps, he heard his name being called again. "Arnold!" His eyes opened again, and saw Phoebe running towards him. He was caught off guard when she didn't stop, and threw his arms around his torso. It was a moment before he slipped his arms around her back. "Arnold, I saw them wheel Helga into an ambulance, is she-"

"She's fine." He stopped her before she had a chance to break down. "She just has a small nick in her shoulder. She's going to be just fine." He said with a soft smile that felt heavy on his lips. She smiled sadly and nodded. "Come on, I'll drive you to the hospital and we can wait for her." He kept one arm around her shoulder, and pulled her with him as he started back to his car.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting in a hard plastic chair in the hall way, just outside of the emergency room doors, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his head hung low.

Phoebe had disappeared down a hallway a few minutes ago, to try and find someone in charge, but he stayed behind to try and think things through.

He knew he loved her. He knew now with out a shadow of a doubt that she was the one. He had even gone so far as to tell a man who was holding a gun to her face that she was the woman that he loved. And at the time, it didn't even occur to him that it might have been the last time he would get to say it, while she still had a chance to hear it. He was just stating a fact. She's the woman he loves.

The only thing he could think while he was sprinting at full force towards that office was how she _couldn't _be dead. She just couldn't be dead. Helga Pataki was always a sort of larger than life figure. She was always such an unshakable force that he couldn't even imagine her life being taken from her. But, as he threw himself on the ground next to her, and brought her up into his lap, he had already known that he was in love with her, but it wasn't until the moment when she didn't wake up that he realized just how deep it really was.

In that moment, he thought that he would never get to see her eyes light up again, or see her beautifully unreserved smile again, or get to feel the spine tingling electricity come off her lips when they would kiss, or feel his body go warm when she would return his embrace. He thought that it would all end before it even started.

He wanted to wake up next to her every morning, he wanted to be able to bring her breakfast in bed after a long night out on duty, he wanted to see her bashful and embarrassed about having morning breath, or having bed hair. And now, sitting in a chair, waiting for a doctor to come out and tell him something, he wanted so badly for it all to happen.

But maybe, after these long two weeks, she didn't feel the same way anymore. Maybe after he pushed her away, she got over him. Maybe she took his rejection and decided to move on, and he couldn't help but tell himself that she deserved better than him. She deserved the world, and maybe she realized that the world is what she wanted, and decided that he couldn't give it to her. Maybe he just wasn't enough for her anymore.

It was always these types of self doubts that would cement themselves into his mind, and wouldn't let go.

Dejected, he looked toward the emergency room doors one last time, stood up, and turned around to make his way out the door. After all, he's the one that got her shot, the last thing she's want to see is him. He had only taken a few steps when he was being called again. "Arnold, where are you going?" Phoebe asked, her tone light.

"Home..." He stated without turning around.

"Arnold Shortman, stop _right _there!" She demanded.

In no mood to be lectured, he simply stopped, ran a hand over his face, and turned around. "What Phoebe?"

She was already marching toward him angrily, "I want you to answer a question of mine. When you first met Rachel, what were your first thoughts?"

He paused, not at all understanding the question. "What do you mean?"

"When you first saw Rachel, the very first time you set eyes on her, what was the _very _first thing that entered that iota you call a brain?"

"She dropped her books in the library, and I went to help her."

"_No, _not that, when you saw her for the _very _first time, what did you think?!" She shouted.

"I thought it was Helga!" He shouted back. Phoebe kept her expectant scowl in place as he turned back around and paced his way away from her. "I had just walked into the library, and saw this tall blonde girl at a table with her back turned, and she knocked her books on the floor, and she turned around to pick them up... and I thought it was Helga."

"And what did you do then?" She already knew the story of how they met, but why she was forcing him to retell it, he still didn't understand.

"I went up to her to help her with her books, and she smiled, and thanked me for helping her. She was nice, and sweet, and she made me feel like I was doing everything right."

"And what did I tell you when you announced you were engaged after only three months of dating?"

"That it was moving too fast, that I should step back and think things over."

"Exactly, and did you listen to me?"

"No... no, I didn't."

"Now, you wait until _now _to listen to me, to wait until Helga finally worked up the courage to put herself out there, and you told her that you needed time to make sure that it was really her you were falling for. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, which I'm not, but you said that you love her, didn't you?"

"I do love her."

"Then why the _hell _are you leaving?!"

"Because I can't face her yet, Phoebe! I almost got her killed because I failed to do my job right! Why would she want to see me?"

"Because she _loves _you!" She said, shoving her hands into his chest, forcing him back a step. "She has been sitting on my couch for the past two weeks sulking, asking about you every day, just waiting to see if you were ready to give her a chance! And now, you finally get it through your thick skull that you two are perfect for each other, and you're leaving?! I swear, if your stupid face isn't the first thing that she sees when she opens her eyes, I am going to _kill you!_"

"Excuse me?" A voice was saying from behind her. Phoebe spun around and Arnold looked past her and over to the doctor that had just pushed open the emergency room doors. "She's awake."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I love all the reviews I'm getting for this story! Keep them coming!**

* * *

Arnold was trying his hardest to be professional as he walked next to the doctor, who was explaining Helga's condition. But all he could think of was that she isn't dead, and whether or not she heard him say that he loved her. He just nodded at the end of every sentence the doctor said with his hands clasped behind his back.

"We managed to get the bullet out fairly easily. She's still very lucky, a centimeter left or right and it would have severed her artery, and she would have bled out in minutes. She's even luckier that the bullet she was hit with wasn't a hollow point. From what I could tell, it looked like a forty caliber, so it took quite a bit to stitch her back up. But she's doing just fine. After we give her something for the pain, she'll be able to walk out of here today."

The last statement, Arnold _did _hear, and registered it in his brain. She could leave today. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Now, I have to warn you; she's still a little out of it from the pain medication she's on now. She keeps asking for a 'football head'. One of the weirdest things I've had a patient ask me for, in fact." The doctor said, looking over his clip board again. He simply chuckled to himself, and continued to follow the doctor until he stopped at a closed door and motioned toward it with his clip board. He heard the doctor say that he had a few more patients to check on, and would be back in ten minutes, but the words didn't register in his head as his failure started to eat away at him.

In his four years of being on the squad, he's only had a hostage been shot once. And even now, that day still haunted him. Only once before has he failed to talk down a suspect. But now, he failed to do his job to the best of his ability, and it nearly cost the woman he loves her life. He would never forgive himself if she had lost her life. He hasn't even forgiven himself for the lives that were lost last time.

But now, Helga was lying in a hospital bed with a hole in her shoulder because he couldn't do his job. He always knew that he had tactical command, so if he would have thought it through, he would never have agreed to have a bank clerk lie and say that Westlake had his money. He knew how risky it was, but he went along with it anyway. And he knew that the commander was probably counting on him being too out of it to catch it, but Arnold wasn't willing to take that risk. And because it was taken, despite his hesitation, he almost got Helga killed.

_This would be a lot easier if Phoebe were here to tear my head off. _Phoebe had gone to talk to his captain to get the full background on Westlake, and promised to come see Helga before she was released. He wanted to see her more than anything, but the fear that she didn't want to see him was keeping him in place just outside her door. _He did say that she was asking for a football head. _

Taking one last deep breath, he closed his eyes, put his hand on the handle, and pushed open the door. Very hesitant to open his eyes, he opened them anyway, and the sight of her breathing was enough to take the weight off his shoulders. She had her eyes closed, her left arm in a sling, dressed in a hospital gown, her hair a little messy, and falling loosely down her shoulders, with dark circles under her eyes. Out of all the times he had said to himself how beautiful she looked, it all paled in comparison to now.

He slowly closed the door, pushing it shut as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake her, and continued to creep up to her bed side. He came to a stop at her right side, and looked down at her hand that lay limp by her side. He gently ghosted his fingers into her hand until his was folded around hers, and started to run his thumb past her knuckles. "I'm so sorry, Helga."

It was then that he felt her fingers flex against his. He looked up and saw her start to wake up. She groaned as her head nodded towards him, and her eyes slowly started to open. "Arnold?" He smiled brightly at the sound of her calling out to him.

"I'm so sorry I did this to you, Helga."

"What are you talking ab-"

"I had tactical command!" He shouted as he turned around and paced away from her bedside. "I knew that having that banker say that he had the money in his account was a mistake, but I didn't stop him."

"Arnold..." She weakly called out, but he paid it no mind.

"In my four years of being a hostage negotiator, I've only had a hostage shot on my watch once! But now, you're lying here in a hospital bed with a gaping hole in your shoulder because of me!"

"Arnold!" She said a little more firmly, but he still ignored her, and turned back around and started to pace back to her.

"I told him not to take that shot, I _told _him how risky it was! But he _never _listens to me! And because of his negligence, you got shot and-"

"_Arnold!" _

"What?!"

She reached up, grasped the collar of his windbreaker, and pulled him down to her lips. As his lips slammed against hers under her tight pull on his windbreaker, she kissed him deeply, silencing him with her demanding lips. He braced his hands on her bed, and let his lips act on their on as they started to kiss her back just as deeply. She continued to kiss him, feeling the mind numbing passion she was exuding come off her, as she ran her hand up his collar bone, past his neck, to the back of his head where it fisted itself into his hair. With one more deep motion of her lips, she pulled her tongue out of his mouth, which he didn't remember getting shoved into his, and pulled him off her with a wet pop.

"I love you too."

As his breath caught in his throat, he felt another smile break out onto his face, and it wasn't until then that he saw the light in her eyes again. That same light in her blue eyes that he fell in love with. And feeling the irresistible urge to kiss her again, he pressed his forehead to hers, and pressed his lips to hers deeply, this time feeling her tongue dart into his, then back out. He released her again, and kept his forehead pressed to hers.

"So, does this mean you're my boyfriend now?"

"Huh?" He asked, honestly not hearing the question over replaying her previous words.

"You know... buy me stuff... worship the ground I walk on, that kind of stuff." She quipped with a raised brow and a sexy smirk.

"So long as you're the girlfriend. You know... ask me to call you pretty, ask me to tell you how you look in something, make me give you foot rubs, that kind of stuff."

"You got yourself a girlfriend, football head." He felt another smile break out, and he leaned forward and kissed his _girlfriend _again.

After another minute of sitting on comfortable silence, he sat down beside her, and took her hand in his. "So, Jeremy was the one that framed you?"

"Yeah." She averted her gaze and sighed, "He said that he found out how much my dad had, and killed him and tried to pin it on me, then I would go to jail, Olga would inherit the money, he would kill her, and I wouldn't be able to come after the money."

"Well, he's dead now, you don't have to worry about him. And Phoebe's working to get the case closed as we speak." He looked from her hand back up to her eyes, which now held a slight furrow in them, with her brow in a straight line. "What is it?"

She let out a sharp sigh before speaking, "He left everything to me."

"Who?"

"My dad, he left everything he had to me."

"Is that why Westlake snapped?"

"Yeah, he said that I ruined everything."

"Well, according to his financial records, after his father's stock holding company was sighed over to him, he ran it into the ground pretty quickly, and drove himself into bankruptcy."

"He said he was going to kill my sister."

"Your sister is doing just fine. Just a bump on the head." He said with a soft smile, and thinking back on it, he started to chuckle. "She actually came onto me when I went to check on her."

Helga's eyes darted back to his, and then started to fall down to his chest. "Where's your shirt?" She asked, tugging the wind breaker open, which had been unzipped half way. And upon second glance, her eyes were quickly starting to get hazy the further she pulled it open.

"When I ran into the office, and saw that you had been shot, I took it off to try and slow the bleeding." Her eyes now held a look of deep concern, and she obviously inferred that he was the first one on scene. And as those first images of her lying face down on the floor flashed in his mind, he lifted her hand up to his lips and kissed them just to feel the warmth of her skin. "I uh... when I ran into the office, and fell to the floor beside you, and pulled you into my lap, and you didn't respond when I called out to you, I thought that the last time I would get to see you was when you walked out."

"You mean when you pushed me away?"

Even having her say it stung. "Helga, I've been miserable. I even took three weeks off of work to try and clear my head, and work through everything. But all I ended up doing was buy a dog and blame myself."

"You got a dog?" She said in a light tone.

He smiled softly and chuckled again, "Yeah, a black lab. Her names Vivian. She's been keeping me company. She's a real sweetheart. She loves _everybody._"

"Well, when I get out of here, I'd love to meet her. Speaking of which, did they tell you when that was?"

"Yeah, they said that once they give you something for the pain, you can go home."

Just then, the door opened, and the doctor walked through, holding his clipboard and a few clear plastic bags, and smiling, "How are you feeling, Ms. Pataki?"

"Just give me some pain meds so I can get out of here, will ya?"

"Absolutely, just take this to which ever pharmacy you chose, and they will fill it for you. In the mean time, here are your clothes. We took the liberty of washing them for you." The doctor then set the plastic bags in the table beside the bed, which upon second glance, didn't have his shirt in it.

"Doctor, did you happen to find _my _shirt? I used it to wrap her shoulder with."

"Oh, uh... I'm sorry, sir, but due to the large amount of blood, we had to get rid of it."

He sighed, "It's alright." The doctor then handed his clip board to Helga, asking her to sign at the bottom. After getting her signature, he then made his way out of the room, and said that they were free to leave.

"Just great..." He looked over and saw Helga holding her fleece in her hand, with her finger sticking through the hole where she was shot. "This was my favorite sweatshirt."

"Do you need any help getting dressed?" Expecting to get scolded for offering, she agreed, and slowly got to her feet. First he helped her with her jeans, trying to keep his eyes off her legs, then helped her with her hospital gown, and luckily, she was still wearing a bra. He shook his head at the sight of her bare skin, and helped her carefully weave her arm through her t-shirt, then pull it over her head. She turned around and paused, smiling up at him, that same light shining in her eyes.

"Thank you... for everything." He quickly leaned down and captured her lips, losing himself in the shiver that shot through him when they met. As he slid his lips against her, deepening the kiss, he weaved his arms around her waist, pulling her into him, while she wrapped her free arm around his neck, continuing to kiss him casually. He lost track of how long they were standing there kissing, and he never wanted it to end. But, when she slid her hand into his hair again, making him moan deeply, there was a knock on the ajar door. He snapped his head over, his mind still catching up with him, and he saw a nurse standing there.

"I hate to interrupt, but we need this room."

Feeling a little embarrassed, he blushed, hearing Helga stifle her giggles, and felt her grab on to his hand, and pull him out the door.

Once they were walking toward the parking lot, now with his arm tossed casually over her shoulders, with her free arm reaching up to entwine their fingers as they walked back to his car, he was so lost in his head trying to wrap itself around the idea that they were actually together, that he was caught off guard when he felt her kiss him briefly on his jaw. He looked down and with a soft smirk, and saw her grinning at him wildly. "What was that for?"

"Nothin'... I just love you."

* * *

**A/N: Yay! No cliff hanger! ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

Even though it had only been a couple days of being 'official', it felt like they have been together forever, but at the same time, the days that have gone by felt like they still went by too fast. It had only been four days since they finally labeled each other at the hospital, and admitted to each other out loud that they loved each other, and they couldn't seem to say it enough.

Tonight was Helga's last night of staying with Phoebe. After contacting the lawyer again, she had acquired the account information, and started looking for an apartment of her own, and tomorrow, she was moving in, and since Arnold was still on vacation, he would be helping her. Even Phoebe had managed to clear her schedule to help them out. Helga was using her new found wealth to her advantage, buying herself a new bed, a new set of living room furniture, and the basic necessities for a kitchen. She had considered moving back into her old home, but decided against it, saying that she wanted a place of her very own, a place completely new to her, and he couldn't blame her at all.

He had done the same thing when he was left Sunset Arms. The first thing he did was sign it over to Susan Kokoshka, since she was seemingly the most responsible. He hasn't been back since he sighed over the deed, but he would be lying if he said that he didn't miss it every once in a while.

Tonight, they had planned to have a romantic evening, just the two of them, and he was already preparing his special dish. And as he checked the clock on the stove, she was due to arrive any minute. Now, all he had to do was turn down the sauce to simmer, and wait for the chicken to finish baking. He sighed contently, and tossed his hand towel over his shoulder, putting his hands on his hips triumphantly.

Vivian perked up her ears at the sound of a knock on the door, and stood up off her blanket in the corner, and walked over and stood in front of the door. Arnold quickly walked over beside her, "Down," He said, putting his hand out. Vivian obeyed and sat down, still wagging her tail. She had a habit of jumping on her new best friend whenever she showed up, and since her arm was still in a sling, Vivian didn't understand that she needed to be careful.

He pulled open the door, smirking devilishly at his girlfriend, who was smiling back at him, already stepping forward and pressing her lips to his lightly. He looked down to his lab, and saw her still sitting beside the open door, her tail now wagging a lot faster, her ears perked up in anticipation. Helga stepped inside as Arnold closed the door, knelt down in front of her, and patted her knee with her free arm. "Come here, Vivi!"

Vivian stood up right away and began licking Helga's face, as Helga giggled and started scratching her ears. Eventually, Vivian rolled onto her back, and Helga began to rub the dog's belly. She patted her a few times, and stood back up. She took a broad sniff of the air, and hummed in satisfaction. "That's smells great."

Arnold, who was still standing by the door watching her play with his dog in delight, started walking past her, and kissing her cheek as he passed her, and then made his way back into his kitchen. "Glad you think so. It should be ready in a few minutes."

She followed him into the kitchen, and sat down on one of the stools in front of his counter. "So, I've been wondering something."

"What's that?" He asked, pouring two glasses of cider, since Helga couldn't drink alcohol while on her pain medication.

"What made you want to be a hostage negotiator?"

Arnold stopped pouring the second glass, and froze, feeling his stomach drop. He knew exactly what got him started down that path, he just didn't really want to tell her, because... it sort of involved her. "Uh, it was something that happened in high school." He stated off offhandedly, handing her a glass of cider.

"Really? What was it?" She asked lightly, taking a small sip of her drink.

He took a long, deep breath to prepare himself for whatever her reaction might be. "It was uh... it was Brainy."

She scrunched her brow together in confusion, "Brainy, what did he do?"

"He committed suicide."

Helga's once confused look, turned into a look of shock and horror. And he knew why.

Everyone in Hillwood High knew that Brainy was a little mentally unstable. It was no secret. And he was hesitant to tell her this because she had dated him in middle school, right around the time that him and Lila started going steady. He didn't know if they remained friends after they broke up, but obviously, something was always wrong. "He killed himself?"

He closed his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, the gym teacher was working late one night, and went into the locker room, and found him hanging from the water pipe. It was a big shock to the whole school. And I wanted to be a councilor, at first. I thought maybe if I could have had the chance to talk to him, help him work through his problems, then he wouldn't have taken his own life. But then, I was on vacation in California after graduation, and I heard on the news about this hostage stand off that lasted two days, and I thought why does it take so long? So, I started looking into it, and before I knew it, I was studying to be a hostage negotiator."

As he studied her blank expression, she seemed to still be trying to wrap her head around the fact that Brainy had killed himself. And she was...

Helga had agreed to give Brainy a shot in middle school, shortly after Arnold had started dating Lila. And at the time, she was being a bit cruel to Brainy, since she was just trying to get Arnold jealous. But when he didn't seem jealous, she had approached him one day, and told him that she was going out with Brainy, and he said congratulations. After that, she had continued to date him just for the sake of having a boyfriend. But it ended mutually after four months, and she had honestly tried to make it work, but they just weren't compatible. They had remained friends after their relationship ended, but she always knew that he still held a sort of obsession with her, but she always got the feeling it was less Fatal Attraction-ish.

And its true that her move was sudden, and that she made no announcement of her move to anyone, or made any plans for that matter. That night when her mother had packed as much as she could get into a suitcase and left, she did the same, and went to find her, wanting to get away from her father as fast as she could. She didn't make any calls to anyone, except for Phoebe, who managed to get to the motel they were staying at until they could get a flight to Oregon, and mournfully said goodbye to her best friend. Phoebe probably would have been the only understanding one that she talked to about her move anyway.

No one told her that Briany killed himself. And she couldn't help but wonder if it was on purpose. Because right now, she couldn't shake the feeling it was because of her. "When did he kill himself?"

"It was a couple days before the homecoming game. I remember because they had a moment of silence at the game for him."

Just then, she felt the heavy weight of unbearable guilt hit her. "That was a week after I moved to Portland."

"Hey," He said softly but sternly, coming around the counter and sitting in the stool next to her, grabbing her hands. "It's not your fault. Brainy was mentally unstable. If it's anyone's fault, it's the schools for not seeing it, and giving him the help that he needed. He was the one that decided to take his own life, not you."

She knew he was right, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that she might has well have handed him the noose. And as she started to picture Brainy hanging from the water pipe in the cold, dark locker room of Hillwood High, she started to feel her pulse quiver in her throat. She was brought out of it by the sound of high pitched whining coming from her right side. She looked down and saw Vivian looking up at her, her ears perked up. Vivian jumped up and put her front legs on her, and she couldn't help but smile, and return the lab's affection.

As Arnold watched Helga pet Vivian, a soft smile returning to her face, he thought about those days back in middle school. And he still remembers the day we saw a side to Helga that he never thought could be there at the time.

He had just broken up with Lila, after six months of feeling nothing. He had put it off for weeks, not wanting to break the heart of the nicest girl in school. But, he also couldn't lead her on anymore, so either way, he was going to be made out to be the bad guy. And after hearing her tear soiled voice agree that they could stay friends, he found himself with his face buried in his hands on a bench outside the schools cafeteria that afternoon. It was then that he heard a voice that, at the time, was not exactly welcomed.

_"Hey Football head, why the long face?" _

_Taking it as another one of her insults, he simply kept his face buried in his hands and groaned. "Not now, Helga. I'm not in the mood." _

_"Hey, don't get testy with me, bucko. I just saw Lila and she was crying. Now, I see you here and you look like you just murdered someone. What's the matter? Trouble in paradise?" She asked, in typical Helga fashion as she sat down next to him. _

_"You can say that." _

_"Good, 'cause I just did." Despite feeling very guilty, he couldn't help the smirk that started to play at the corners of his mouth at her quip. After a moment of silence, she was speaking. Much softer, in a tone that he had almost never heard before. "What's the matter, Arnold?" _

_Her voice was so soft, so gentle when she wanted it to be, that he let his hands fall, and turned his head to look into her soft eyes, which he just then noticed were blue. "I broke up with Lila." _

_"Well, that much I gathered, but what I don't get is why. You two were like... Romeo and Juliet or something." _

_He couldn't help but notice the irony in her statement, looking back on their time together playing Romeo and Juliet. "I can't really explain it." Expecting her to throw out another one of her witty responses, he paused, but it never came, so he continued to try and explain it anyway. "It's just... when I asked Lila to go steady with me, I thought that it would be great. And it was, for a while. But lately it just seemed... boring. Like there wasn't any..." _

_"...Passion, any excitement, any spark?" _

_He snapped his head over to her, wide eyed and shocked that she basically read his thoughts, ones that he didn't even know he had at the time. But, she was right. There wasn't any spark between him and Lila. "Yeah," he muttered. _

_"Well, duh! You and Lila are exactly the same, football head!" _

_"Isn't that why we should make a good couple?" _

_Helga sighed broadly, and dug into her backpack for her notebook, and her pen. She flipped to an clean page, and drew a large circle, with a wavy line through it, and quickly shaded in one side of it. "You know what this is?" She asked, tapping her pen against her drawing. _

_"Isn't that the symbol for good and evil, or something?" _

_"It's a yin-yang sign, Arnold. And no, yin-yang means harmony. Yin needs yang and yang needs yin. Together, they complete each other. But you try and put two yin's together, it doesn't work. That's what you and Lila were. Two yin's. What you need is a yang. Just go out and find someone that's nothing like you. Like Harold." After receiving a raised eye brow of confusion, she rolled her eyes, and put it in terms he could understand. "The point is: opposites attract."  
_

Ever since that day, on that bench, he saw Helga in a new light. She helped him understand why it was that him and Lila weren't getting along. And ever since then, he couldn't help but notice Helga in a different way. That, over the years, she had gotten kinda pretty, and now, her beauty was enough to leave him speechless.

So, maybe she was right back then. Maybe all he needed to do was find a yang. And maybe, back then, a part of him knew that he had already found it, and wouldn't let go. So maybe he was just trying too hard to listen to the logical part of his brain, which was telling him that him and Helga were just _too _different. Yes, he was working up to courage to ask her out in high school right before she left, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe that part of him that felt that his yang was Helga, was the part he should have been listening to more.

Maybe his heart knew what it wanted all along, and maybe when what it wanted wasn't within reach, just waiting for him to take anytime he felt comfortable with anymore, when he thought he saw what his heart wanted that day in the library when he met Rachel, it latched onto something that he thought might suffice. But, that conversation never left him. And he could always hear Helga's voice in his head, telling him that two yin's just didn't go together whenever he was arguing with Rachel.

The thought that he was using Rachel for a cheap replacement for Helga made him realize that that's probably why they always fought so much. Because she just wasn't Helga. But now, the real Helga is sitting in his kitchen, just a few feet away, petting his dog.

Helga looked up to him, feeling herself being watched, and saw that in fact, she was, by his half lidded gaze, and soft smirk, looking at her dreamily. "You okay?" She asked.

He simply kept his soft smirk, leaned forward, cupped her cheek, and kissed her. She loved it when he would kiss her unexpectedly like this. Just the thought that the desire to kiss her was too much for him to bare, that he had to stop what he was doing, and press his lips to hers. She felt herself smile into the kiss as he moved to deepen it. She reached up to cup his jaw with her free hand, and giggled into his mouth. He released her after a long kiss, and pulled back. "I'm just perfect."

The timer on the stove buzzed, and Arnold jumped up to take the chicken out of the oven, but Helga was following him. "I'll get it, I need to feel useful anyway."

He chuckled and stepped aside, letting her slid on the oven mitt that sat on the counter. Hearing a knock on the door, he groaned, and followed Vivian out of the kitchen to open the door. He pushed his dog out of the way with his leg as he pulled open the door, with his stomach dropping into his feet at what he saw.

"Hi there," She said in a sultry voice, being greeted with a few loud barks coming from Vivian, and he was too shocked to realize the significance of this being the first time he heard his own dog bark.

"Rachel?"

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, I am such an ass-hole! ;) **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: One of my reviewers asked if I was writing this with them being in NY or WA. And honestly, I was writing it like they were in NY, but in this one, it doesn't really matter. I know that in the original mythology of the show, Hillwood is in Washington, but in this story, I wrote it with NY in mind. Because I wanted Helga to have moved clear across the country, and Portland is just the first city I came up with. But, either way, there aren't any details in this story that will be out of place if you have it set in WA.**

* * *

With the sound of a soft, yet sultry female voice echoing over Vivian's very first audible bark hitting her ears, she slowly set the cookie sheet with the chicken down onto the counter very gently, trying to make absolutely no noise, so she would stay unnoticed. She looked out into the the living room where she could see Arnold's body was very rigid, with his dog's head low, her jowls quivering. His guest had obviously set her off for some reason.

As Helga was trying to stay very still, Arnold couldn't seem to move, staring at his ex-wife, who was standing opposite him, smiling back at him like she was as innocent as the day they met. He blinked, hoping she would be an apparition, but she was still there. Physically, she had changed, at least, her hair did. It was a lot shorter now. It was now cut to fall just short of her shoulders. Hearing Vivian growl beside him, he looked down to her threatening posture, and grabbed onto her collar and started to stroke her back. "I see you got a dog."

"Rachel, uh... what are you doing here?" He asked, pulling on Vivian's collar and moving her behind him.

"I'm back in town, and I wanted to catch up." She said with an innocent shrug, and what seemed to be sincere smile. Even his thoughts stuttered, but one finally formed fully, and he quickly shot a look over to the woman he left standing in the kitchen. His hopes for a peaceful, romantic evening with his girlfriend were already shattered, but that didn't mean that he had to put up with Rachel anymore than he needed to to get rid of her.

Seeing Helga's nervous and wide eyed look, standing like a deer in headlights in his kitchen, it was probably a good thing that Rachel didn't see her right away.

Helga suddenly felt like an intruder, if not an intruder, than very uncomfortable. Arnold's ex-wife had just asked him to catch up, and she still didn't know the deeper details revolving around her, or his divorce. She knew the story, but she didn't know exactly how he felt about it. And with that, she didn't know how her being here was affecting him. Taking off the oven mitt, she quickly made her way out of the kitchen, and over to where Arnold was still holding back his dog.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something right now." She heard him say as she came up behind him, and ran her hand over Vivian's head to try and calm her down.

"Actually," She said softly, getting a quick spin of his head, and a scared look. "I better get going. I still have some packing to do." She stopped when she saw the person still in the hall way lean over and peak her head inside. _Phoebe wasn't kidding... _

Despite the hair, she did look a lot like her, maybe a little shorter, and a little bustier, but still a lot like her. Deciding to try and put it out of her mind until later, she placed a hand on his shoulder as she moved around him, "I'll call you in the morning." She said softly, hoping that it would be unheard by the woman standing adjacent to them, probably listening intently. Resisting the urge to push up and press her lips to his stubble, she kept her hand on his shoulder for as long as she could until she absolutely had to let go.

As she shimmied around Rachel, who was looking at her with a raised brow, and feigned smile, Arnold wanted nothing more than to tell her to go away, pull Helga back in, and slam the door. But he stayed silent, and watched Helga walk down the hall. And he couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken. That was the first time that they had parted ways without saying 'I love you' to each other. Once she disappeared from sight, noticing Rachel still looking off in her direction, he ran a hand over his slicked back hair, and let out a breath.

"I didn't realize you had company." Vivian barked again at the sound of her voice.

"Go lay down." He ordered her, looking behind him and pointing his finger over to the pillow that was in the corner. Vivian let out a small whimper and turned around, walking over to her bed and laying down. He turned back around, and noticed the impatient look Rachel was giving off. She hated dogs, and as he remembered this, he had half a mind to call Vivian back over.

"I didn't realize you had company." She said, still looking down the hall.

"What do you want, Rachel?" He asked in a low, impatient tone.

"I see our place hasn't changed much since I left." She reflected, looking past him and into _his _apartment.

"What I do with _my _apartment isn't your business anymore." He said, crossing his arms.

"Can we at least be civil?" She asked with a pleading look.

"What are you doing here, Rachel?"

She let out a sigh, and let her head fall forward. "I'm back in town visiting my parents, and they asked about you. They were wondering how you were doing, and I was a little sad when I told them that I haven't spoken to you in four years. They told me that out of all the boys I ever brought home... you were the best." He wanted to tell her to get to the point, but he knew that she didn't really care what her parents thought, since she specifically asked him _not _to ask for her father's blessing. "And I agreed with them. What we had was special."

"What we had wasn't real, Rachel."

"How can you say that?" For a moment, she honestly looked hurt. "We were in love, weren't we? Remember how you proposed to me? With that little plastic ring from a vending machine, because you couldn't afford a real ring, and how you got down on one knee in the middle of the mall, how spontaneous and romantic you were?"

"Do you remember what you said to me when I had to move back to home to take care of my grandfather? How, even though you knew how much losing his wife of over sixty-five years destroyed him, you told me that he was going to die anyway, so why bother?"

"Can't we just... look past all of that and try again?"

"No." He stated bluntly, and without hesitation. "I finally managed to move on from how you left me."

"What, with her?!" She exclaimed, waving a hand in the direction that Helga had walked down. "You think I didn't notice that she just might bare a passing resemblance to you ex-wife? Yeah, _real _good job of moving on, Arnold. Is her name Rachel too?" At her mocking, and sarcastic tone, he was reminded of all the fights they used to have, and how angry they got with one another. And at first, during their marriage, he did do it just as an excuse for a hot bout in between the sheets, but it quickly turned into just fighting, and he would end up sleeping on the couch. Some night, he even slept on the couch when they weren't fighting.

"No, her name is Helga. I've known her since we were kids. We grew up together. And just so you understand, she came first."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You remember that day in the library, when we first met? How you always used to brag to all of your friends that I came to help you with your books?" He inwardly grimaced at the way she fawned all over him when they were dating, and at a bar with _her _friends.

"What, did you help her with her books too?"

"No, I held an umbrella over her head during a rainstorm on the first day of preschool and walked her to the door, and complimented her on her bow." He had remembered that day for a while now. Thinking about how that day in that office could have been her last, he started to think back to the first time they met, and after an hour of cycling through memories, finally came up with that cold, stormy morning outside of Urban Tots Preschool, holding his umbrella over an already soaked and mud covered little girl with pig tails and big blue eyes.

"Well, isn't that sweet? I guess you were a charmer even when you were in diapers." She spat, keeping her voice thick with infuriating sarcasm. "So, everything you ever said, all those times you said you loved me, all those times you said that I was the most beautiful creature god had ever put on this earth, it means nothing to you now? Arnold, you made me fall for you in a week!"

"You say that like I'm suppose to care. It took me a long time to learn to let go of the past, Rachel. You didn't just let me go, you threw me away. You threw away everything I said when you left that note on the fridge. We can't go back because there's nothing to go back to."

"But you have to admit that we had something special!"

"What we had were fights. That's all we ever did was fight. And what's worse is that it was always about _nothing_. We got into fights over which side of the bed you slept on! And you really want me to go back to that?"

"So... that's it, your just going to start sleeping with my doppelganger instead?"

"You're _her _doppelganger, Rachel. She came first. That day in the library, when I came up to you. I thought that you were her. I fell for her in grade school, but then she moved with her mother down to Portland, and I never saw her again. And because I fell for her so long ago, when I approached you in the library, I thought I was approaching her."

As he told her this, he felt guilty. That day had always meant so much to her. It was the one proud moment they had in their relationship, and it was the one moment that she always told to her friends proudly, always saying how sweet and caring he was. So he would be lying if he said that confessing to her that the only reason that that day even happened in the first place was because he was thinking of another woman didn't make him feel like he was a terrible person. And as he met her eyes again, he saw that she was very genuinely hurt.

"You mean... when you came up to me, when I dropped my books... you thought you were helping _her." _

"I'm sorry, Rachel. But-"

"No, you're not either! You're telling me that they only reason you came up to me in the first place was because you thought that I was _her?_ Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

"Just like it felt when I called you the night you left, and begged you to come back. Just like it felt when your lawyer said that you asked to keep my own grandmother's engagement ring. Just like it felt when you said that falling in love with me was the worst mistake you ever made. I know _exactly_ how it feels, Rachel. I have every right to move on with my life, and be with someone who _really _loves me, and who I love back just as much."

"So, you're telling me that everything you ever did for me, like taking care of me when I had the flu, or when you carried me over _this _threshold, it was all because of her... this, Helga?"

"You want her number to thank her?" He sarcastically asked.

She crossed her arms, and raised a brow. "Sure." He did a double take, thinking her heard wrong. "Give me her number."

"I was kidding, Rachel."

"What? If she loves you as much as you say she does, then what's the problem?"

"I'm not giving you her phone number, Rachel. And trust me when I say it's for _your _protection, not mine." He said with a confident smirk, very proud of who his girlfriend was.

"I can _not _believe I even came here!" She huffed as she spun on her heel, turning down the hallway.

"Believe me, I wish this was a bad dream!" He replied with a raised voice, receiving no reply from her, simply a very pointed look. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he finally slid his door shut, slouching against it heavily. He looked over to Vivian, who was wagging her tail, her ears perked up, looking very adorable. He patted his knees, and she came running over, falling at his feet on her back. He laughed and started to scratch her belly. "You hungry, Vivi? 'Cause no one else is going to eat this chicken."

* * *

"Hey..."

Her soft, angelic, and slightly apologetic voice made the bad taste his ex-wife left in his mouth vanish. He took a deep breath in through his nose, which was obviously audible through the phone line, since he heard her giggle on the other end. "Hey..." He said on a sigh, letting the breath out.

"So... how'd it go?"

"She's my ex-wife, how do you think it went?"

She chuckled dryly, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm just glad she's gone. Speaking of which, you want to come back over?"

"I don't know," She said on a yawn, "I'm pretty tired."

"You can sleep here tonight."

"Oh, uh... I don't know, Arnold. I don't want to... rush things."

"I know, but I really want to see you. I love Vivian to death, but she isn't cutting it. And that whole shoulder thing left me... wanting."

There was a long moment of anxious pause, as he stopped his ministrations on Vivian's head, waiting for her answer. "Okay."

He smiled brightly into the receiver, now very eager to see her again. "You're awesome, you know that?"

"You know, the national institute of the blatantly obvious just called about that, actually?"

He laughed, very in love with her sense of self confidence, and sense of humor. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay."

"And Helga,"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

There was another short moment of pause before she answered him, "I love you more."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: So, this chapter is rewritten quite a bit. I added a whole new scene that sheds some light onto why Arnold acted the way he did when he was with Rachel. I apologize for the previous chapter 21. I was rushing out the door, and haphazardly posted it. But This is the new chapter 21, and it's quite a bit longer! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Is that the last of it?" Phoebe asked from Helga's kitchen, as Arnold heaved yet another box into her apartment.

"Yeah," He set the box on top of the others, and wiped the sweat from his brow. It hadn't been easy, but they had managed to get Helga all moved in, or at least her personal belongings. Her furniture wouldn't be here until tomorrow, meaning she would either end up sleeping on the floor, or in either Phoebe's or her boyfriends apartment again.

Helga smiled as she thought of the night before. She came back over, swallowing her trepidation, and drifting into his arms when he opened the door with a revealed smile, and a soft kiss. He hadn't said much about Rachel's surprise visit, and if she was being honest, she was a little disappointed, knowing he was holding at least something in, and not opening up to her. But, she didn't push the issue, knowing how holding something in felt. While she was using her inheritance to start a life for herself, it didn't come easily, knowing that her father had all that money, and kept it to himself. He had more than enough money to pay a live-in nurse, but he left her to find a job to pay for her own food. And she didn't even want to think about the fact that she had moved clear back across the country on his account, when he knew that she didn't want to come back.

But, in the end of it all, she would probably have to thank him. Because she was miserable in Portland after her mother died, and even more so when she had to drop out of college. She managed to get accepted into Oregon State after high school, and moved into the dorms, ready to take on the world, and her mother couldn't be more proud of her. But then, times started to get tough, and money was getting tighter with her tuition, and since she had already taken out all the school would give her in student loans, she had to drop out, and start work full time at the department store.

She missed it every once in a while, having the world at her feet, just ready for her to go out an conquer it. But now, because she had to move back home, and because her father was too cheap to pay for a live-in nurse, and because she was ten minutes late getting off work, making her get mixed up in the rush at the bank, she became reunited with the one person that made her feel like her life wasn't completely meaningless. Better yet, he was in love with her.

She was trying _real _hard not to rush things, and it was proving to be a challenge. She didn't spend twenty four years of her life loving the same person to only kiss him softly, and sensually, and that's all he ever did. She loved it when he would kiss her casually, but sometimes, she just wanted him to be demanding, to just yank her in by the waist, let go of his inhibitions and easy going nature and set her body ablaze with his hands and venturing lips. True, she loved cuddling up with him last night, and falling asleep together in each others arms, but much to her dismay, the only place he ever kissed her was her lips.

What she wanted, and what she was telling him to do without outright telling him to do it, was to just bury his hand in her hair, pull her head back, and just give her the biggest hickey ever. She wanted her pulse to quicken and slam against her throat as he massaged the flesh of her pulse point with his tongue, while nipping at her with his teeth. But, once again, his laid back attitude kept his hands unventuring, and his kisses slow, and calming.

She wanted to, but she didn't force him, because she wanted to go slow. And since they had only been dating not even a week, she could understand why he was holding back, but she still didn't want him to. It was probably for the best anyway. After all, if they rushed into things now, and gave into the temptation to slam each other against the nearest surface, the passion that they felt for one another, she feared would burn out that much quicker.

She shook her head of the images that her struggle was conjuring, and continued to unpack the dishes with her one good arm. Her arm had only been in a sling for five days, and she was already sick of it, and according to the doctors, she still had another few weeks to go. She could still to her every day tasks, and with the right amount of pain killers, she could do a little bit more too. But she hadn't been able to wrap both her arms around her beloved in so long, she almost couldn't remember how it made her feel, _almost. _

She would go back to work tomorrow. After a call to her boss, explaining everything, she had gotten a few days off to recuperate, and get her head back on straight, but tomorrow, her few days were up. But luckily, since Arnold had also taken off, they could spend that much more time together, which they did. They had taken walks in the park, gone to see movies, he had helped her look for an apartment, and spent more than enough time with his arm around her shoulders, sitting on his couch watching old cartoons.

"Thanks for helping me move in, guys. I would have done it myself, but..."

"It's no trouble at all, Helga." Phoebe said as she bustled about her still in progress kitchen.

"Yeah, besides," Arnold started moving through the maze of boxes and over to her, "what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you out?" He asked, not looking for an answer other than a quick peck on the lips, which left her wanting.

"Well, now that we have everything in here, why don't I buy you guys lunch?" She offered, looking between Arnold and Phoebe, watching them silently confer with one another. After a moment, they both shrugged a 'Why not', and they headed out.

Pulling up next to a small pizza parlor, they made their way inside, and sat down in a booth along the wall. After they had ordered, Helga excused herself to go to the bathroom. She reluctantly pushed herself out of her seat, missing his arm around her shoulders the instant she stood up, and made her way into the back, and pushed through the doors of the bathroom. Just about to head into one of the stalls, she was stopped by a voice she had only heard once before. "Excuse me?"

Helga stopped dead in her tracks, her hand just an inch away from the door to the stall. She hesitantly looked over to the sinks where she heard the voice come from, and saw Arnold's ex wife standing in front of the farthest one, wearing an unreadable expression. "Yes?"

"You're Arnold's girlfriend, right?" Rachel asked, taking a step toward her.

"Um..." She didn't think that her question had a right answer, so she decided to just spill it. "Yeah."

With a small grin playing at the edges of her mouth, Rachel took a large step forward and extended her hand. "I don't think we were ever properly introduced, my name is Rachel Pierze. I'm Arnold's ex-wife."

She didn't want to be mean, but she didn't really want to be nice either. Rachel did seem like she was trying to be friendly, and if she wasn't, it's not like she couldn't take her if she didn't want to, right? She lifted her hand up to the one Rachel was extending, and shook it lightly. "I'm Helga Pataki... Arnold's girlfriend."

Rachel narrowed her vision and widened her smirk. "Pataki? Any relation to that man I saw on the news that was murdered?" Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded. "I'm very sorry for your loss, that must of been tough to go through."

She paused before speaking, thinking that she might be crossing over a line complimenting her ex-husband. "It was, but Arnold stuck by me and helped me through it."

"Hey, would you want to get some coffee with me? I'll buy."

Helga was more than a little suspicious of her, but still, she had pretty quick wits and could probably talk circles around her. Besides, she was offering he a free cup of coffee, so why not? "Sure." She agreed with a half shrug of her good arm.

"Great, how's about three at the cafe down the street?"

"That's fine with me."

"I'm looking forward to it." Rachel said with a smile just before she breezed past Helga and out of the bathroom. She tried to take a cleansing breath, but all it did was let her smell the harsh smell of a public restroom.

* * *

That afternoon, after saying that she had a doctors appointment, she made her way back to the cafe that they had agreed to meet at, and she had no doubt as to the reasons that she was being asked to coffee. She was about to be interrogated... again.

The difference here was that Rachel wasn't an authority figure. She was just Arnold's ex, nothing more. She didn't know how jealous Rachel was of her, and her new found relationship with Arnold, or if she was jealous at all. But one thing was going to remain the same, Arnold was _her's _now, now Rachel's, and it was going to stay that way.

As pushed open the door, and began to scan to faces of the people already in there, and eventually saw her, just walking away from the counter, and sitting at the same table that her and Arnold had met at the morning after their first date. She steeled herself, and began walking through the coffee shop, trying to look more confident in her stride than she actually was. Rachel looked up and smiled, and she forced a smile in return, pulling out the chair opposite of Rachel, and sitting down. "I didn't know how you took it, so I just got it black, but I got cream and sugar just in case."

"I prefer it black actually." She said, pulling the small cup toward her.

"I can't stand black coffee, I need at least two sugars in mine." Rachel said, and Helga was already regretting agreeing to this meeting after hearing her tone, reminding her of all the stuck up cheerleaders in high school.

"Well, not everyone can take it." She said, feeling a bit better about herself when she took a long sip of the black coffee she was just bought.

"So, you're dating Arnold." Rachel dodged the slight insult that was just hurled at her.

"Yep, I am indeed dating Arnold." She confirmed, not making direct eye contact.

"How's in going so far?"

Once again deciding to look past the fact that Rachel was trying to burrow her way into their personal life, she decided to to boast a bit. She let a grin curl on the end of her lips, "It's going great. He's a really amazing guy."

Rachel paused and let her eyes fall down to her cup, offering only a small nod. "Yeah... he is."

After a couple moments of awkward silence, waiting for Rachel to continue, Helga was already sick of trying to be subtle. "Listen, I'm just going to lay it all out there, and let you do with it what you want." Rachel snapped her eyes back up to hers, obviously not ready for her to be so direct. Once they made eye contact, Helga leaned forward on her good arm, and continued. "I've known Arnold since we were in preschool, and I've been in love with him just as long. I've been swooning over him from afar for a _very _long time, and now that I finally have a chance to be with him, I'm not going to walk away that easily. So if you're here to tell me that you want him back, then you can forget it. You had _your _chance, and you blew it. I'm not going to let you blow mine."

Rachel simply kept her small smrik on her lips, and leaned back in her chair. "You've been in love with him since you were three years old? No offense, but don't you think that that's just a tad pathetic?"

Helga balled her fist into a tight ball, and quickly recalled Phoebe's words. "No, I call it loyalty, I call it devotion, and just a pinch of psycho. I've waited for years to be able to be in his arms, to be able to have his lips touch mine, and to be able to prove to him that if he gives me his heart, I'll give him mine with out hesitation."

"Listen, Helga, I'm not here to try and steal him away from you. I tried that last night, and he basically slammed the door in my face, and told me that he was taken. I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to tell you to not make the same mistake that I did."

Inwardly feeling a wave of relief wash over her at the fact that no one was pursing her beloved besides her, she leaned back, "Okay."

"When Arnold and I met, I fell for him hard, and fast. I'm sure you know the feeling." _Got that right, sister. _He managed to get her to fall for him head over heels in love in just two sentences. "At first, our relationship was unyielding, we didn't hold back anything. We said our 'I love you's within a week of knowing each other. We were moving way too fast, and we never took enough time to really get to know each other, so by the time we got married, we still didn't really know each other. I didn't know how much his grandparents meant to him. I didn't know anything about his parents because he never brought it up. We fought because I thought that since we were married, I just assumed that we knew everything about each other, and when he didn't, I took it to heart. I got caught up in how he made me feel. I'm sure you know what I mean. The way he looks at you, like you're the most special thing in the world, he makes you feel like you can do anything, and I got caught up in it, and didn't realize that we were on a nose dive."

"So... what are you saying, exactly?"

"I'm saying, take your time. Get to know who he is, inside and out. My biggest problem with him is that he was _so _reserved. He never opened up to me. All he ever did was shut me out, so I started to shut him out, and I never bothered to make him open up to me. I was afraid that he'd get madder than he already was, and we'd end up in another fight. What I'm saying is... if you can get him to open up to you, then you two belong together."

As Helga let her words sink in, she thought back to when he told her about his parents. She hadn't even asked him about their picture, and he just told her about them, and how he tries to not let their disappearance effect him. She hadn't prodded him, she did have to force it out of him, he just told her without hesitation.

"But, that's all I really wanted to say. And I'm sorry for how I came off to you when I stopped by last night. I was angry at him, not you. And honestly, he was right. I had no right to stop by and try and pick up where we left off. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and when my parents asked about him, and couldn't get him out of my head, so I just... I don't know, gave into temptation I guess. I wanted to feel like the way he used to make me feel when we first met, and I'm sorry."

"It's uh... it's no problem."

"Could you... could you give him something for me?" She asked, already digging through her purse on the floor. She pulled out a small, tan envelope and slid it across the table to her.

"Mind if I ask what it is?"

"It's his grandmother's engagement ring. I asked for it in the settlement, just because I knew how much it meant to him, and at the time, I just wanted to get back at him for getting the apartment we had bought. I was going to sell it, but I knew that if I did, I would be able to live with myself."

Helga pulled open the top of the envelope, and tilted it until the ring fell into her palm. It was beautiful, with a rather large stone and two others on either side, and a gold band, she could tell why Rachel was reluctant to let go of it. "I'll make sure he gets it." She said, dropping the ring back into the envelope and folding it in half, putting it in her pocket.

"Thank you."

They both stood up, and parted ways outside, with nothing more than a mutual wave good bye. And as she sat back down behind the wheel of her car, she gave into the temptation she had ever since the ring fell into her palm. She dug it out of her pocket, took the ring in her fingers, and slowly slid it onto her left hand ring finger. At the sight of his Gertie's engagement ring sitting on her finger, she felt a bright smile burst onto her face. She knew she was dreaming way too far ahead, but she couldn't help it.

She drove back to Arnold's apartment in a daze, still day dreaming about seeing that ring on her finger someday, and that smile that burst onto her face stayed in place even up to the point when he opened the door after her knocking, and him kissing her lightly in greeting. "Hey, doctors appointment go well?"

She followed him in, slowly shutting the door behind her, then following him into his apartment, and with the state she was in, she knew that she couldn't lie very well. "Actually, I didn't go to the doctor's."

Arnold turned around with a raised brow, and naive smile. "Really? Where'd you go?"

She started to form the words, but they caught in her throat, and it wasn't until now that she was almost afraid to tell him. So, doing the thing that she her words would have led up to anyway, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out the envelope, and handed it to him. "What's this?" He asked, taking it from her and looking inside. As she shifted her weight to one side, she watched him peer inside the envelope, then shoot a wide eyed look back up to her in disbelief. He tilted the envelope till the ring was in his palm and let the envelope fall to the floor, staring at the ring with a furrow in his brow. "Where'd you get this?"

Letting out a sharp breath, she looked down at the ring that secretly adorned her finger just a few minutes ago. "Rachel gave it to me." After a moment of fruitlessly trying to gauge his reaction, she continued. "I ran into her when we were having lunch, and she invited me to get a cup of coffee with her. The only reason I went was to tell her to back off, but... she just wanted to talk."

"About me." It was in his tone that he was a bit angry, and that he knew that they were talking about him, what else was there?"

"Arnold, what happened between you two?" She asked, finally making eye contact, and taking a small step toward him. She couldn't help that she sounded pleading, but right now, she needed him to open up.

And in truth, the look in her eyes did it for him. He couldn't throw it off like it was nothing, and push it all away like he did with Rachel. He looked back down at the ring, and let out a sigh. "Sit down, it's a long story."

After slowly making their way to his couch, and sitting down about a foot apart, he turned toward her, keeping the ring in his hand. "Rachel and I had been dating for three months and a week. And it was going great, and I felt that we had fallen for each other pretty hard. We were at the mall one weekend, and I saw this older couple, about mid sixties, and they were sharing a milk shake, with two straws. They looked so happy, and I thought that if they could be that happy at that age, then why not make sure that we are. So, I told her that I was going to the bathroom, and ran over to the vending machines, and bought this little, plastic ring, that had this huge, ugly blue rock in it. When I came back, I got down on one knee and proposed, and she said yes. I told her I got her the plastic ring because I couldn't afford it, and that I'd been planning on proposing for weeks. But in reality, it was a snap decision that was made without thinking. The weekend after that, I went to tell my grandparents, and Grandma took my hand, and gave me this ring to give her. She wanted to keep it in the family, and that it was always meant to go to me. So, I went back, and gave her this ring. A month after that, we got married in a courthouse because we had just spent our money to get this apartment together. And for a few months, I thought that we were going to be like that couple I saw in the mall. But, pretty soon, I started to realize that this woman that I thought I knew, I really didn't know at all. And I think it all started when Grandma passed. I never told her how much my they meant to me, so I guess It shouldn't have came as much of a shock as it did when I told her that I had to go take care of Grandpa. After that, we just started to drift apart. Our fights got worse, and worse, and eventually, we were just sick of each other. One night, I came home from working out, and saw a note on the fridge saying that she was leaving. I called her and begged her to come back, but she just said that falling in love with me was the worst mistake of her life, and hung up."

At the regaling of his history with Rachel, she couldn't help but feel a sense of hatred toward her, and how easily she retold everything that had happened between them, because watching him retell it was breaking her heart.

"When we first met, we were just having so much fun together, and I guess that I wanted that feeling to last forever, so I tried to force it to. But we just didn't work. Because I know that if I had just stopped and thought about what I was doing, I never would have led her on."

"What do you mean?"

"Helga, the only reason I ever went up to her in the first place was because I thought she was you."

Her breath caught in her throat suddenly, and he wasn't hiding his shame.

"When I first saw her in the library at school, I thought that it was you. And I hadn't seen you in so long, and I was still a little confused about my feelings for you at the time, and I just... the only reason I ever met Rachel in the first place was because I was pining for another woman... you. And when it wasn't you, and she asked me to lunch with her that day, and we started talking, I just took what I could get and ran with it."

When she looked back up to his eyes, which had fallen back down to the ring in his hand, she could still tell that he was holding something back. She was almost afraid to tell him to tell her what it was, but she had to know. "Arnold, what is it?" She asked softly, and after a long moment of silence, she wasn't going to let him close up now. "Tell me." She pushed.

"When Grandma gave me this ring, I think that she thought I was giving it to you." As she tried to wrangle in her composure, with her hands starting to shake, a part of her mind saying that he was proposing, she let her eyes fall down to his hand, as his eyes looked back up to hers. "That's why I didn't want to tell you."

She met his eyes again, and saw a sad smirk playing at his lips. He reached up and cupped her cheek gently, and spoke. "Helga, I want you to know that a part of me always knew that it was you."

"Then why are you holding back?" She asked on a whisper, reaching up to cover his hand with hers.

"Because I want to make it last with you. I know that if I give into my urges, and try and make this feeling last a lifetime, then what happened to Rachel and I will happen to us, and I don't want that, Helga. I want to take our time, and prove to myself that you're the one."

"Arnold, you don't have anything to be scared of. While you think that you've been pining for me for a long time, I can guarantee you that it's not nearly as long as I have been for you. You've already proven to me that you're the one, but I'll spend as long as it takes proving it to you."

Quickly moving his hand to the back of her head, burying his hand in the soft tangles of her hair, he pulled her to him in a passionate kiss, that exuded more heat than she could ever remember getting from him. He wasn't holding anything back this time. As their breaths tangled together between them, with their lips haphazardly trying to get as much of one another as they could, their tongues already rolling across each other, she buried her hand in his hair, and moved to straddle him, letting out a long moan as she did so.

As his hands finally ventured up her back, she finally felt his lips leave hers, and blaze a fiery trail across her jaw, ending on her neck as he roughly kneaded the flesh against her throbbing pulse point with his mouth. If this was the feeling that he was talking about lasting forever, then she couldn't really blame him for trying to make it last forever.

Or maybe it wasn't this feeling he was talking about. Maybe it was the feeling she got when she secretly slipped on that ring that was now probably buried in the couch cushions, that feeling that forced you to smile brightly, that feeling of unbridled love for the other person, maybe it was that feeling he wanted. Maybe they already had it, or maybe it would take a while to find it, or maybe it was there, but they just weren't seeing it. But one thing she was sure of, Arnold Shortman was the one.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I'm keeping this one rated T. Simply because I always feel that when I raise the rating, the number of readers always takes a nose dive. If you guys want a decent fic that's rated M, and has plenty of lemons, then I would suggest my other fics ;)**

* * *

Helga woke up to the heavy sound of Jeffery purring in her ear, which was normal, but what wasn't normal was how warm she felt. And not just warm, but secure, she had a sense of sanctuary this morning, like nothing in the world could hurt her, and as she snuggled down further into the sheets, she realized why when she felt his arm snake itself further around her.

It had been a few days since Rachel unexpectedly showed up, and since Arnold opened himself up to her about his past relationship with her, and last night, after getting her furniture in place, she went to stand out on her balcony, and he came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, and started to tease her neck with his lips. That action eventually snowballed until they were falling into bed together. Lying in bed with her beloved, after a _long _night of sensual love making, with his arm around her, his other being sandwiched between her pillow and her mattress, his warm breath fanning off her hair, she couldn't help but feel complete.

She had never been so cared for before. She had only slept with one other guy, and it was only to try and save their failure of a relationship, and after they had actually slept together, they ended up breaking up anyway. And even then, she didn't really get what the big deal was. As far as she was concerned, she did a better job herself. But now, having been sent off into oblivion multiple times, her mind completely fuzzed, and her body alive with hypersensitivity when her first real orgasm shot through her, she knew why people made such a big deal out of it.

She turned around in his arms as gently as she could, careful to avoid her still sensitive shoulder, and gazed at his peaceful, resting face. With their noses barely touching, she heard him let out a long breath, and a thought popped into her mind. She had prepared for just such occasion, just in case she ever found herself in this situation. She slowly turned back around, and reached into the drawer of her night stand, and grabbed the small pack of mints, popping on into her mouth and sucking on it until it was gone.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned back around to face him, and snuggled herself into his embrace again. It was a few minutes of watching him sleep, noting every twitch in his expression, every breath he took, before she finally saw his eyes drift open.

Once his eyes fell upon hers, a sleepy smile curled onto his lips, "Hey..." He whispered, letting his eyes blink slowly.

As she realized one of her dreams had just been fulfilled, she smiled a bright, toothy smile and ran her hand past his side, and her palm flat against his back, with the other one sliding up to rest in the middle of his chest. "Hey," She whispered back.

"Mmm, what time is it?" He said while he pushed his head further into the pillow, his voice still very groggy from sleep.

She lifted her head up to look at the night stand on the other side, and saw that it was a quarter past eight. "8:13."

He groaned loudly, and snaked his arm further around her, scooting himself closer to her. "I don't want to go to work."

She smiled again, and let her lips fall to his forehead. "What _do _you want to do?" She cheekily asked.

"This," he said simply, as he moved his head down to kiss her collar bone lightly, "I just want to do this all day. I've been on vacation for three weeks, and it was just starting to get good." He mumbled against her skin, as his lips trailed from her collarbone to her shoulder, then down to her neck.

She giggled as he continued to tickle her warm skin with his lips, "Well, how bout you come by tonight, and I'll make us dinner?"

He gently rolled on top of her, and pushed himself up, holding himself above her just a few inches, and as he gazed down into her dancing blue eyes, watching her bottom lip fall into her teeth, "Only if you tell me you love me."

Wasting no time at all in leaning up and kissing him heatedly, she crawled up his back and wrapped her one good arm around his shoulders, pulling him further down until almost all his weight was on top of her. Thinking she had already answered, he trailed his lips down to her neck, and started to lavish her, until he felt her lips press against his earlobe. "More than anything."

* * *

She practically floated into work that morning, a dorky and knowing smile on her face that she couldn't get rid off. As the memories of her morning cemented themselves in her mind, she let out a deep sigh as she pushed her way into the locker room. After pinning on her name tag, and pulling her hair back into a pony tail, she made her way to the front desk to start work for the day.

She was so warm. She just couldn't shake it. She felt more loved than she had in her entire life. But there was still something bothering her that she could never remember to bring up, because whenever she was about to, he would flash her that soft smirk that she just had to kiss off of his face. But tonight, she would remember to bring it up if it killed her to resist that curl of his lips. He had said that he was confused about his feelings for her when she moved.

She had no idea that he _had _feelings to be confused about at all. If she had, she might not have moved. At the time, they were just civil. She wasn't mean to him, or bully him like she used to, but she couldn't say she was exactly nice to him either. She sort of tried to keep as much distance as her heart would let her. But they always found themselves pushed together by the powers that be, from getting partnered up on projects, to getting lockers next to each other. And as much as she tried to tell herself that she wasn't that nine year old girl, hiding behind a garbage can, she would always let out a loving sigh whenever he walked away.

So, tonight, she was going to make him confess whether or not he had feelings for her before she moved. Besides, it's not like it mattered anymore. After all, they were in love _now, _so what's the big deal?

She moved behind the front desk where she would stand for the next six hours. With her injury, she was assigned to the front desk since she couldn't really fold clothes with one hand. She spent the next hour day dreaming, and texting Arnold, who was stuck at his desk filling out paperwork from the incident at the lawyers office. She was tempted to ask him now, but she decided against it, and kept the conversation strictly witty banter, which they were very good at.

She was lost in her mind, staring down at the last message he had sent her, when she heard someone clear their throat from the other side of the desk. She looked up and the goofy smile that was lighting up her features fell in an instant. "What do you want?"

"After all this time, you still can't just say hi?" Her soft, airy voice did nothing but aggravate her.

"No, now go away." She demanded, looking back down at her phone.

"Helga, can we please talk?" Helga looked back up at the very pleading tone, and saw that her tone was being matched. She looked desperate. "Please, baby sister?"

Sighing despite herself, she slid her phone back into her pocket, and stepped around the counter. Helga led the way outside, and sat down on a bench along the wall next to an ash tray. "Make this quick, I've got to get back to work."

Olga sat down next to her, her hands down in her lap, playing with her thumbnail, a sad expression on her aged face. And it wasn't until now that Helga realized just how much her older sister had aged. Her complexion showed a woman in her forties, that much was certain. She had obvious wrinkles around her eyes, with deep crows feet at the edges, and her skin wasn't as taught and flush as it used to be. "Helga, I'm sorry."

"You almost got me killed, Olga. Sorry isn't going to cut it."

"I had no idea Jeremy killed Dad! You have to believe me, Helga!" She hadn't seen Olga practically beg her before.

"Why'd you even fall for him in the first place, Olga?"

She sniffled before speaking, her voice now very thick with emotion. "He made me feel special."

"Yeah, you're special alright." Helga sassed, rolling her eyes.

"Helga, I'm so sorry." Olga paused and dabbed her nose with the tissue she had balled up in her hand. "He was right. You've always been the stronger one."

"Who was right?"

"Daddy."

"When did he say that?"

"In the letter he left me."

"What letter?"

Olga reached into her purse and dug out a folded envelope, and handed it to her. "That's all he left me in his will. He said that you knew what family was really about. That you stuck by Mom when she left because you had to, and that's what a true Pataki would have done. He said that you came back home because you had to, but didn't want to. He said that you were a daughter that a father could be proud of. He said that because I left, and left you to take care of him, he was leaving everything to you. He said that since you were the only true Pataki left, it's only right that you get everything."

"Olga, he was going to kill you. He was using you. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about Dad's money all along, and went after you to get to it. You used to be smarter than that, Olga. What happened to you?"

"I was suppose to be more than this!" She shouted, suddenly making eye contact through teary eyes. "When you and Mom left, Dad only got worse. He forced me to move back home to cook for him, and clean for him because Mom wasn't around, I tried so hard not to resent him, because I knew that he needed someone around. Then when he had his first heart attack, and had to stay in bed, I finally felt like I had a chance. Then Jeremy came along, and..." She trailed off as a choked sob broke loose. "Helga, I have no where to go. I've been sleeping in Jeremy's car for the past week. I have no money, and only a suitcase of my clothes that I was able to get from Jeremy's house before the bank took possession of it. I just... I don't know where else to go."

Helga honestly felt sorry for her older sister. She can't really blame her for leaving their father. She had done the same thing when she was sixteen, but she came back because of one simple fact, Bob was still family, and so was Olga. After their mother passed, she grew a new appreciation for family, and Olga was no acceptation. They may have gotten on her nerves to no end, and they may have never noticed her, but what it all boils down to is that they were still family, and Olga was all she had left.

Helga dug in her pocket for her keys, and took a single key off the ring. "Here." She said, handing it over to her older sister. Olga looked up at the key, then to her with an arched brow. "It's the key to the house, you can have it."

"The key?"

"No dunce, the house." Olga's eyes widened in shock at Helga's offer, and she stopped her before she could reject the offer. "I was going to put it on the market, since I just moved into my own apartment. And I know that I'm never going there again. And since you have no place to stay, and since everything is still there, you can have it. It will put a roof over your head, at least."

"Oh, baby sister!" She cooed, jumping forward on the bench and wrapping her arms tightly around her, making a sharp pain stab through her injured shoulder.

_"Ouch!" _

Olga backed off immediately, and began to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Helga! I forgot about your shoulder!"

"Olga, just take the key." Her older sister offered a pitiful smile, and took the key, holding it down in her lap, then looking back up to her. She raised her arms again, motioning for another hug. "Alright, just... take it easy this time." Olga's smile brightened a bit before she leaned forward again, and gently wrapped her arms around her again. And Helga couldn't help but hug her back a little bit.

* * *

With a sudden knock on her door, she smiled, put her spoon down, and jumped over to answer it. She pulled open the door with a bright smile, greeting his soft smirk for the evening. "Hey."

He stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers for a long kiss. With his lips sitting against hers, he began to step into her apartment, and move her back into her apartment. Her smile forced her lips to part from his, and he chuckled as he pushed the door shut, then proceeding to fling his arms around her waist, pressing her into him. "Hey there." He greeted, nuzzling his nose against hers.

"So, everything's ready, I just need to let the soup cook for about ten minutes, then we can eat." She said, tossing her arm around his shoulders, while he entwined his fingers behind her back.

"It's smells good."

She hummed as her brow jumped up in agreement, pressing up to kiss him again.

Twenty minutes later, after eating in comfortable silence, their dishes were sitting on her coffee table, and they were now snuggled up on her couch, with him in the corner, and her in the cove his body created, with his fingers playing with a lock of her hair. If she was going to bring it up, now would be the best time. "Hey, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"What's that?" He asked, picking up another lock of her hair to play with.

"You said that you were confused about your feelings when I left Hillwood. What did you mean by that?" She turned her head to look up at him awkwardly.

His chest rose against her as he sucked in a deep breath, then fell when he let it out, his breath blowing down onto her shoulder. "Do you remember when I broke up with Lila, in middle school?"

"Yeah, why?" She remembered that day all too well. That was the day hope finally came back to her.

"Well, you remember when you came up to me and sat down, and how we talked?"

"...Kinda."

"That's when it started. That day, it was the first time I saw a different side of you. You were very smart, and you helped me out a lot, but you were still _you. _From then on, I couldn't help but notice you. You were always so witty, and funny, and intelligent, and graceful, and complex. Not to mention you were gorgeous."

"Are you kidding?! I got bludgeoned by the puberty hammer!"

"You did not, trust me. I was in the locker when they were calling you 'a fifteen on the Richter scale'. Gerald had to pull me out of an argument that was about to turn into a fist fight because of what they were saying about you."

"Really? You got into a fist fight over me?" If the image wasn't the least bit funny to her, she probably would have been flattered.

"They've all known you since we were kids, and they were still talking about you like you were just a pair of breasts. It just..."

"Hey, hey, get back to complimenting me!" She urged with a confident smile, patting him on the leg.

"Well, I was actually on the verge of asking you out before you left. But when you did, I was left with nothing, and I still didn't know exactly how I felt. I mean I knew I had a crush on you, but I didn't know if there were any _deeper _feelings to it. And you didn't leave your phone number, or e-mail. You didn't even say goodbye. So I guess I never got the chance to find out. But now, you're here, and I'm here, and we're here _together, _and we're in love, so I have no problem in telling you that I had feelings for you since middle school."

_Well, this is it. He confessed his feelings from the past, it's only fair that I confess mine. _"In my nightstand, there is a hard back copy of The Three Theban Plays. I want you to go get it, but don't open it." He agreed, and pushed himself up off the couch, and out from behind her, and walked into her bedroom, coming back with with a book with a black cover.

"I always figured you for more of a Shakespeare fan." He said, handing her the book.

"Please, Sophocles makes Shakespeare look like a hack." She took a deep breath, readying herself for something she had been holding in all her life, something that she let define part of who she is. "You remember how I said that I've always known that you were the one?" She watched him answer with a soft smile, and a small nod. "Well, I've known for... a _really _long time."

"Really?" He asked lightly, obviously not picking up on what she was trying to say.

"No, I don't think you get it. I've known that I was in love with you, and that you were the only one I want to be with for a _very _long time."

His brow scrunched together in a tight knot, as his vision narrowed a bit. "How long, exactly."

"My whole life... pretty much."

Helga's grip on the book tightened as soon as the words left her mouth, and after a moment, she peered over to him out of the corner of her eye, to see him still smirking softly back at her. She turned her head to look at him after his expression didn't change. Catching her very off guard, he cupped her cheek, and leaned forward to kiss her deeply, and with enough passion to leave her mind blank. After capturing her bottom lip between his, he let go her lips with a soft pluck, and leaned back. "All that time, you were keeping this inside?"

She offered a measly shrug, her eyes trained on his lips. "You get used to it after a while." Not offering him the luxury of a response, she leaned forward to continue kissing him. As her hand went into his hair, while his arms went around her, he started to pull her back on top of him, and she was more than willing to be pulled back along her couch with him. Running his fingers behind her ear, he let his hand fall to her neck, running his thumb across the long of her jaw. And as he continued to massage her lips with his, she let the book fall from her grip, sending it to the floor, with her locket falling out of the cut out she had made.

"Since when?" He asked against her lips.

"Day we met." She said back in a husky tone, very eager to get back to kissing him. He chuckled into her mouth and she pressed against his mouth harder, not able to get enough of him.

Out of all the times she visualized confessing her feelings to him, this wasn't at all how she planned it. The kissing part, this was in there most of the time. But the lack of a long, drawn out explanation of why she felt that way, along with her telling him that she would love him madly until her dying breath, that was never in her fantasy. But maybe they didn't need that. She told him that she loved him, and he told her that he loved her, and they had very eagerly agreed that they were in love. So, maybe that was enough for now.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Sorry I've been lazy with updates! I've been having a case of writers block. But I'm over it now (hopefully). Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"So... our whole childhood, you loved me?" He asked again, still trying to wrap his head around it, while setting his literal head on top of hers.

The topic had become a lot more casual as the week progressed, considering that they were now standing in her kitchen, with him in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, and her in nothing more than his dress shirt from the previous day. He had his arms snaked loosely around her waist, hugging her from behind, his lips pressed against her hair as she stood in front of the stove, making breakfast for them. "Are you kidding? I hated you!"

"I thought you said that you've been in love with me since the day we met."

"I hated you because I loved you so much. I mean, every thought I had always led back to you. Every feeling, good or bad, somehow, led back to you."

"It couldn't have been _that _bad. I mean, we all get crushes."

"I once sculpted your likeness out of your used chewing gum." She deadpanned, turning a blank expression back up at him.

He raised a brow with a pleasant smirk. "How'd you get enough gum to do that?" Surprisingly, he wasn't creeped out at all, he actually found it kind of funny. Not her, but the fact that she could be so obsessed with him, and he not even notice. _I couldn't have been this oblivious, could I? _

"Being in the right place, at the right time... _a lot._ I was actually kind of proud of myself when I completed it."

He chuckled and snaked his arms further around her, nuzzling himself against her hair. "So, you told me about the shrines, and the poems, and the locket, is there anything else I should know about?"

"Well... there is one thing that I've been kind of afraid to tell you." She said turning off the stove and moving the pan with their scrambled eggs to the next burner. She turned around in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck. She let out a sharp sigh before looking up at him, "I once stole your hat to finish my chewing gum shrine of you."

"Wait, you were the one that found..." He trailed off as he looked down at her expression, consisting of an arched brow, and nervous smile. "You brought it back."

"O-only because seeing how lost and depressed you were without it was breaking my heart, and knowing it was because of me and my own infatuation with you wasn't doing me any favors in the matter. A-and I guess karma does exist, because when I gave it back to you, you hugged me."

As he thought about it, he couldn't help but be amazed by her. She looked past her need to seemingly worship him because seeing him not being his usual bright self was too much for her to bare. He couldn't help but feel more in love with her knowing that, even back then, how much she cared for him knew no bounds. "You know, I hugged you more than once, and as I recall, you shoved me off of you and yelled at me for it."

"Yes, but before I did that, I was a smiling, happy puddle of goo. I swear to you, you have _no _idea what you do to me."

"Why don't we find out?" He asked in a low, sultry tone, casting a half lidded smirk down at her lips, just before he quickly captured them. As her arm snaked further around his shoulders, with her damaged one slowly ran up his arm, her hand burying itself into his hair, he could feel her stomach slowly press against his while she started to fall forward a bit. And it wasn't until he felt her push against his shoulder with her elbow to hoist herself back up, that she was melting into him.

He chuckled into her mouth and kissed her again just before he spun her around and lifted her up onto the counter with ease. As she hit the counter, she let out a guttural moan and scrunched her hand into his shirt, forcefully pulling him back to her swollen lips, and animalistically kissing him, using her teeth to pull and tease his bottom lip. He had just gotten the bottom button of his shirt undone when there was a firm knock on the door.

He let out a heavy groan of frustration into her mouth, letting his lips slide off of her's. He pushed off the counter and turned to go answer it, until she was pulling him back, and latching onto his lips again in a quick, hard kiss. She pushed him off her after only a moment, leaving his mind to catch up. "Get rid of 'em." She said huskily.

He smirked, and captured her lips again in another chaste kiss, then quickly made his way over to the door to answer it. Very eager to get back to what he was doing, he unlocked his door, and opened the door just enough to peek his head out. His frustration only grew when he looked at the person standing in the hallway. "Hey man." He said, an a nervous, but forced casual tone.

Arnold, standing in a t-shirt, and boxers, his hair disheveled and lips probably swollen, if it wasn't obvious what he was just doing, then Gerald was stupider than he gave him credit for. "What do you doing here, Gerald?"

"Listen man, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. We've been friends our whole lives. And despite my opinion of the girl you obviously have waiting for you somewhere in there, it's not enough to give up my brother for. So why don't I buy us a drink tonight... bury the hatchet?"

He was right about one thing, they were always like brothers. And in most cases, he did believe in second chances. He sighed lightly, and extended his hand. It was a moment before he looked back up to Gerald, to see him wearing a friendly smirk, then slapping his hand into his, and shaking it widely. "Sorry I hit you."

"You hit me?" He sarcastically asked. They both chuckled dryly, and let their hands fall back to their sides. "Alright, bro, I'll see you tonight at the bar, say around seven or eight?"

"Eight's fine." He nodded.

"Cool, I'll see you later, Arnold." Gerald waved, walking down the hall to the elevator. He smiled, glad to finally have a chance to have his best friend back, and closed the door. While he did have friends, or the guys at work who 'looked up' to him, he didn't have a friend like Gerald. They were like brothers, and since he didn't have any siblings of his own, Gerald's friendship was special to him, even if he had changed.

He turned around to make his way back into the kitchen, where Helga eager to get back to what they were doing, but he was stopped when he looked up to see her standing in front of him, her arms crossed, and impatient scowl on her face. "What was that about?" She asked in a low tone.

"That was Gerald, he just wanted to go out tonight." Honestly not knowing why she looked so angry, he was surprised when she raised one brow, silently asking him if he was telling her the truth.

"And you agreed?" She continued, shifting her weight to her other foot.

"He's my friend, Helga. Why wouldn't I?"

"I thought that you put that piece of trash behind you." She hissed, deepening her scowl even further.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Helga. And besides, he's like a brother to me." He had a terrible feeling that they were in the midst of an argument.

"I told you what he did to Phoebe, and you're still buying into his _bullshit?" _She spat, taking a slow step forward.

"I'm not buying into anything, Helga. I'm going to confront him about what he did to Phoebe, and try and get him to apologize."

"She doesn't want him to apologize! She wants to move on!"

"And him apologizing won't help her with that?"

"Not when he can't keep himself from sleeping with anything with legs."

"Helga, I don't like how he treats women anymore than you do, but he's still my friend. I can-"

"You can what, change him?"

"It's a better plan than beating the crap out of him." He shot back, crossing his arms.

Her mouth fell open, shocked at what he had just said, "Phoebe is like a sister to me, and your defending the person that stole her virginity!"

"And Gerald is like a brother to me, and I already said that I don't condone what he did to Phoebe!"

"Then why are you still friends with him?"

"Because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to get through my divorce. Yes, I don't agree with how he lives his life, but it's his life to live, but he's a good person."

"There's nothing _good _about him!"

"How would you know? When was the last time you tried to be nice to him?"

"When was the last time he tried to be nice to me? He called me a murderer, Arnold."

"If you've never tried to at least be civil with him, then how can you stand there and tell me that he doesn't deserve a second chance, Helga? You don't even know him."

"I know _you, _at least I thought I did."

"What are you saying?" His tone sunk at what she had just said.

"I'm saying that I'm leaving." She said, just before she spun around, and marched into his bedroom, and he was too afraid to follow her. It was only a minute before he saw her march back out of his bedroom, now in her clothes that he had thrown off her from the night before.

"Helga, wait." He said, urging her by grabbing onto her wrist as she passed him. The instant his fingers touched her skin, however, she pulled it away, and spun around to him with an angry scowl. "You're not really making me _choose, _are you?"

She reached for the door, and flung it open, not stopping on her way out. "Let me know when you get your common sense back." She hissed, slamming the door shut behind her.

Letting out a shuttering breath, he turned around, and slowly made his way over to his couch, falling onto it heavily. He knew that they would argue eventually, but he didn't know it would be this bad, or effect him this much. When he fought with Rachel, and she ended up leaving for the night, or they ended up just going to bed angry, he simply dug into his argument out of spite. But now, he didn't want her to be angry with him, because knowing Helga, it wouldn't end until he said that he was wrong. And while he was planning on going to Gerald tonight, and confronting him about what happened between him and Phoebe, now he had no one to go to about him and Helga. He knew that the subject would come up, but now he knew he would end up pouring out his soul to him yet again about his relationship problems after a couple of shots.

Gerald had helped him through a very tough time, with his problems with Rachel, and his grandparents passing, if it wasn't for Gerald, he probably wouldn't have made it. Gerald always had his back when it counted, always offering him advice when he was all out of it. He would always be there for him to help him out of a rough time, just like any real brother would. And this was his chance to get his brother back, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice Helga.

He sighed heavily, ran a hand over his hair just as Vivian was jumping up on the couch next to him, laying her head down on his leg. "What do I do now, Vivi?"

The dog stayed silent, and let out a heavy breath through her nose.

"I mean, I'd be lying of I said that I didn't miss Gerald, but things with Helga had just been going so great lately."

Vivian remained silent.

"I love her more than anything, Vivian." He paused, staring up at the ceiling while he started to pet her ears. "Do you think she'll come back?"

Vivian remained silent.


End file.
